


Tattoos and Scars

by Raine_Wynd



Series: Battle Cries [6]
Category: Highlander: The Series, Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Highlander Fusion, Canon-Typical Violence, Family, Gen, Hansen Family Feels, Immortals, Inspired by Music, Jaeger Pilots, Loyalty, Operation Pitfall, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Watchers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-13 05:34:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 27,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2138928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raine_Wynd/pseuds/Raine_Wynd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He said I've been here for all these years<br/>And what I know is this<br/>If you look and listen close<br/>A man will show you what he is<br/>You know the way I see it, you've been 'round but you're still green<br/>Cause tattoos and scars are different things" - Montgomery Gentry, "Tattoos and Scars"</p><p>Also known as my take on the events of Pacific Rim, if Pacific Rim happened in a world where Highlander-style immortals were a thing, and not everyone who died in either canon source does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_December 31, 2024_

Herc wasn’t surprised to find his son sitting in a chair on one of the ‘dome's outside observation platforms, looking out to the city as the sun set. Striker Eureka’s official decommissioning had been held that morning; the Sydney Shatterdome, closed officially on December 29, was down to just Striker Eureka’s crew, the LOCCENT chief, and the jumphawk pilots that would transport Striker to Hong Kong. Herc was equally unsurprised to find Max on Chuck’s lap; the bulldog had gotten used to being wherever Chuck wanted him to be.

“Thought I’d find you up here,” Herc commented.

Chuck glanced back. “Doesn’t seem right to be shutting down,” he said. “Not with the kaiju coming every four weeks now.”

“Starting tomorrow, things will be different,” Herc promised his son. “We won’t be under UN control anymore.”

“You still haven’t told me what we’ll be doing in Hong Kong.”

“Marshal’s orders; I can’t tell you until after we get there.”

Chuck sighed. “Which means you really hate whatever he has planned.”

Herc didn’t argue the point. After five years of piloting a jaeger together, no one knew him better than his son. 

“Came up here to tell you our crew cobbled together dinner if you’re hungry and that the marshal said that if we wanted to come to Hong Kong early, we can.”

Chuck shook his head. “I’ll come down for dinner, but I’m not liking what I heard from K-science.” Chuck tucked Max into a backpack he pulled from underneath the chair, and then slid the straps onto his shoulders.

“Which is?”

“Might see another attack before mid-January,” Chuck said, opening the access hatch and climbing down the ladder. Herc waited until Chuck had cleared a sufficient space before following. He met Chuck at the elevator that would take them to the mess hall. Chuck let Max out of the backpack before boarding the elevator.

“That wouldn’t sit well with the UN,” Herc noted as he punched the button for the mess hall.

“Like they care,” Chuck said moodily. 

Used to his son’s opinion on the issue, Herc didn’t comment. In silence, they headed to the mess hall and had dinner. Their last night in the Sydney Shatterdome was spent packing what little personal items they had left; Chuck’s collection of jaeger figurines had joined their motorcycles and Herc’s sword cases in the items already sent to Hong Kong. All they had left was their clothes, already packed in large duffel bags, which would go in one of the jumphawks that would carry Striker. Chuck had long ago installed a set of hooks to one of the back panels inside the conn-pod so that they could secure the smaller duffels that carried changes of clothing and Herc’s sword, since he couldn’t wear it when he was wearing a drive suit. 

Max’s barking woke them the next morning, and they heard the kaiju alarm sound a few minutes later. Herc immediately called Fiacre Rhéaume, the longtime chief of LOCCENT for the Sydney Shatterdome. “What the hell’s going on?”

“Category IV Kaiju code named Mutavore has emerged from the Breach,” the Frenchman said. “Orders are to see if the Wall holds.”

“That’s bloody useless and you know it,” Chuck said as he dressed hastily.

“Just reporting it as I read it,” Fiacre said cheerfully. “But if you wanted to suit up, I officially was out of job four days ago. So if I happened to tell your crew to get ready or tell you to go out there, there’s no one officially here to tell me I shouldn’t.”

“Thanks, Fiacre,” Herc said gratefully. 

Their strides in sync from the years of Drifting together, the Hansens ran from their quarters to the drive suit room. 

The lack of a fully staffed Shatterdome meant they had to take turns bolting each other into their drive suits, but it was something they’d learned to do. Chuck chafed at each delay.

“Rangers,” Fiacre said seconds after they stepped into Striker’s conn-pod. “Mutavore is moving at a high speed towards the city.”

“Roger that, LOCCENT,” Herc said. He glanced at his son. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Chuck said, and plunged them into the Drift. Repetition made it easy to initiate the pilot-to-pilot connection.

“This is Marshal Dylan Carrodus,” a familiar female voice said, surprising both of them; they’d thought the Sydney Shatterdome marshal had left her post days ago. “You are violating protocol by being in that jaeger and I’m told that if you take a step out of this dome before that damned kaiju breaks the Wall, you will be very, very sorry. However, considering that order came from some UN Council who saw fit to fire me, I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear a damn word.”

“But?” Herc asked.

“Marshal Pentecost reminds me that if the Wall does hold, then we’ll all look like idiots for launching a jaeger when we didn’t have to.”

“So we have to sit here with our thumbs up our asses?” Chuck demanded.

“Look at this way: if it does break the Wall, you’re only minutes away instead of half an ocean,” Marshal Carrodus pointed out dryly.

Two agonizing hours later, Mutavore broke the Wall like it was a flimsy piece of cardboard. Within minutes, Striker Eureka was there to battle the kaiju, beating it soundly before killing it with cannon fire.

In the wake of their kill, they did their usual post-kill survey, trying to see if Striker would be needed to help clear the rubble caused by the rampaging kaiju. One of the more enterprising reporters on scene interviewed Chuck and asked his opinion.

“Look, they decommissioned the Jaeger Program because of mediocre pilots. It’s that simple,” Chuck asserted. He leaned into the camera. “That’s Striker Eureka’s tenth kill to date. It’s a new record.” He started to leave, only to be stopped by the reporter.

“Are you still going to Hong Kong at a time like this?” she asked.

“Well, orders are orders, what else am I supposed to do?” Chuck said.

Herc chose then to pull his son aside. “Marshal Carrodus said we’re to get going.”

Chuck sighed, looking disgusted, but he nonetheless followed his father. Police made sure the eager crowd of reporters and spectators didn’t follow them.

“What’s going to happen to Marshal Carrodus?” Chuck asked as they boarded one of the jumphawks.

“She’s overseeing operations for Marshal Pentecost while he’s in Alaska.”

“The Icebox and the Academy are closed. What’s he doing in Alaska?”

“Looking for a pilot.”

Chuck scoffed at that notion. “For that rust bucket Mako’s rebuilding? Thought we had enough candidates to pilot ten jaegers.”

“You want to put two rookies in a jaeger against a kaiju like Mutavore?” Herc asked.

“One maybe,” Chuck said after a moment’s consideration. “What about Echo Sabre’s pilots?”

“They can’t pilot with anyone else,” Herc said. “And they barely can pilot with each other. They were only 70% compatibility when they started.”

Chuck narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember who was still alive. “So out of thirty jaeger teams, we have what, two people who aren’t in a jaeger who could possibly do it again?”

“Yeah, and option one is someone neither of us want.”

“Which leaves…you’ve got to be joking, old man. Thought he was dead.”

“Could still be,” Herc admitted readily. Sensing that continuing this line of conversation would only end with hearing Chuck rant further about mediocre pilots who didn’t deserve second chances, Herc changed the subject. “Looks like we’re almost at Striker. You ready?”

Chuck nodded.

The Hansens descended a rope ladder into their jaeger; there was an access hatch at the top of Striker’s head. Once inside the conn-pod, they coordinated with the jumphawks, who then lifted the jaeger into the air and transported it to Hong Kong. It meant that the Hansens were essentially dangling in their harnesses for hours, but both men felt that if a kaiju were to attack again, it was better to be in their jaeger, ready to go, than in a jumphawk and relatively helpless.


	2. Chapter 2

Richie was there to greet them in Hong Kong, as he’d promised. He had Max with him; since the bulldog wasn’t authorized to be in Striker during transport, he’d ridden in one of the jumphawks with Marshal Carrodus. Herc spared a moment to wonder why Marshal Carrodus wasn’t present, but then remembered she was taking an operations role here in Hong Kong since he was now Stacker’s second-in-command. No doubt she was off doing something else, and given she knew Richie, turning Max over to him would be expedient.

Chuck spent a moment fussing over Max before turning to Richie. “You’re here,” Chuck remarked, making it sound like an accusation.

“What, you thought I just said that to put you off?” Richie asked.

“Other people have,” Chuck threw back.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not ‘other people.’ So does that mean I get a hug?”

Chuck hesitated before he stepped forward and hugged Richie. “Missed you,” Chuck admitted as he stepped back.

Richie smiled. “Missed you too. So why don’t you start telling me what you think isn’t quite right with your new girl, like I know you want to?”

Seeing how Richie handled his son made Herc feel a pang of regret for not insisting that Richie stay with the PPDC instead of leaving. Having seen Richie with his now ex-boyfriend, Herc understood why Richie had attempted to reconnect with Nick. Some people were worth everything. Thinking of that made Herc remember Angela, and how he still missed her. He wondered what she’d think of what their son had become and shook his head mentally at the supposition. 

Clearing his throat, Herc caught Chuck’s and Richie’s attentions. “Chuck, the marshal wanted us to report to him as soon as we got in.”

“Right,” Chuck agreed. “I’ll come back later, Richie.”

“I’ll be here,” Richie said cheerfully.

Not for the first time, Herc wondered what in the world his old friend had been thinking when he’d chosen the office/quarters with the twin, nearly room-length reflecting pools and the ocean view. The pools and the view had been a customization by the Hong Kong Shatterdome’s first marshal, who’d been deeply into meditation, but it meant that a good portion of the room was, in Herc’s opinion, wasted space. Stacker had set up a Japanese tea service in the bookcase on the far right wall, across from the incongruous industrial water fountain that had been installed just outside the open door to Stacker’s quarters. Stacker’s desk, painted to look like cherry wood, rested a chair’s width away from the wall at the end of the pools nearest the door. Two chairs that matched the desk served as guest chairs, while a third served as Stacker’s chair. None of them, Herc knew, were very comfortable, which he suspected was the point. However, given that he’d just spent six hours in a jaeger that was being transported by a team of jumphawks, any chair sounded like heaven, and he sank into this one gratefully. Immortal healing only went so far, especially with injuries and body aches sustained over a long period, and Herc was sore.

Marshal Carrodus smiled as she stood at the near end of the reflecting pools; she’d changed out of her usual marshal’s dress uniform into that of a civilian PPDC officer – navy slacks, white dress shirt, and navy dress shoes. “Have a seat, gentlemen, and I’ll switch you over to Marshal Pentecost. As of this moment, I’m Dylan and I’ll be heading up the operations group, so you’ll see me around.”

“Thank you for everything, ma’am,” Herc said sincerely as he shook her hand. He knew her other job was being his Watcher, but she’d never made it seem like she was recording his life in some musty journal somewhere, and he rarely thought of it as a result. He was reminded of it now, though, feeling her Watcher’s ring on her hand as he shook it.

“My pleasure. Just keep kicking ass like you’ve been and we’ll be all right.” She switched on the video screen that was mounted on the wall, revealing Stacker seated in an anonymous-looking prefab office. “All yours, Marshal,” she told him crisply.

“Thank you, Dylan.” She nodded and exited the office.

“Thank you for taking out Mutavore,” Stacker began. “Now, as you both are aware, funding for the Jaeger Program ran out at midnight, December 31, 2024. We are being funded through several generous benefactors and have enough operating capital for the next six months. I hope not to need six months.” He paused and focused on Chuck. “We are going to be putting a thermonuclear warhead on Striker’s back and taking it to the Breach, where it will be detonated. Cherno Alpha, Crimson Typhoon, and Gipsy Danger will be guarding Striker in case any kaiju try to stop us.”

Chuck said nothing for a long moment. “Not doubting your plan, sir, but last I heard, Gipsy was still being worked on.”

“She is expected to be complete in a few days.”

“I hope you’re not bringing that asshole loser uncle of mine back,” Chuck said. “Sir.”

“That would be difficult,” Stacker said mildly. “Considering he’s in prison for the rest of his life.”

Startled at that news, Chuck looked at Herc. “Did you know this?”

Herc shook his head. “What happened?” he asked Stacker.

“The deal was five years of rehab or prison. He failed rehab two days before he was scheduled for release, so he’s in prison.”

“Finally,” Chuck muttered.

“Agreed,” came the surprising reply. “Any objections to the plan I’ve outlined? I know what Herc’s are.”

“No, sir,” Chuck responded. “If this is the only way to make sure the kaiju don’t keep coming, then I’m all for it.”

“Good,” Stacker said. “Be advised that the bomb is being handled by designated techs who have been advised of all safety precautions and risks. That means neither of you should be doing anything with it until it’s time to explode it. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” the Hansens chorused.

“Get some food and rest,” Stacker ordered. “Dismissed.” Not expecting a reply, Stacker ended the video call and the screen dissolved to the PPDC logo and motto.

Chuck and Herc rose to their feet and, after a quick consult with the quartermaster, headed to their quarters with fresh linen. To save on electricity, the jaeger pilots were all being housed in the same corridor. The Hansens were put in a double-bed suite with a three-piece bathroom; the beds were bolted to the walls opposite each other, which put the kitchenette and desk at one end and the bathroom and closets on the other.

“Home sweet home,” Chuck remarked dryly as he made his bed. With the ease of long practice, Herc ignored him, aware that they’d both gotten spoiled in Sydney with the non-standard, more civilian-style beds they’d had. 

“I’m going to take Max out and then head over to Striker,” Chuck said.

“Don’t forget to eat,” Herc said. “Hong Kong’s an open port; we should eat well tonight.”

Chuck nodded once and then was gone.

Herc let out a sigh and decided to shower and change before going to get dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short version: I have issues with the official movie timeline, so I'm tweaking it for the purposes of this story.

Herc was glad to see his teacher and friend, but not pleased to learn that Richie had volunteered to be part of the team mounting the thermonuclear warhead the Russians had obtained on Marshal Pentecost’s orders. The bomb would be mounted on Striker’s back for the assault on the Breach.

“Do you even know what radiation will do to you?” Herc hissed.

“Probably less damage to me than some other folks,” Richie replied blandly as he opened the crate he’d lugged over to where he was working. “And I’ve been assured by people who know more than me that unless this explodes, I’m gonna live.”

“And I’m supposed to just watch you?”

“Yes. Especially since you’re now the 2IC, which means you delegate stuff like this,” Richie said easily. “Now shoo. I have work to do.”

“If you’re going to do this, mate, then let’s spare someone else, yeah?”

Richie sighed. "Go be a jaeger pilot, Herc. The bomb's been packaged for safe handling, so unless I fail to follow the directions I've been given, I'll be fine. I appreciate your concern, Herc, but don't start questions neither of us wants to answer." Deliberately, Richie turned away to put on safety gear.

Taking the hint, Herc compressed his lips into a thin line as he silently prayed that this plan of Stacker’s would work. Like Raleigh Becket, Herc had done runs on the Breach, since all of the jaegers had been built to be submersible. Gipsy Danger’s run, completed just a week before Knifehead, had provided the information the Breach was protected by a force field. If dropping a thermonuclear bomb into the Breach didn’t work, they’d back at square one – and Herc was certain that Stacker didn’t have a backup plan.

Shaking off that grim thought, Herc headed to Medical, wanting an assessment of the facilities since he’d last been here. The budget cuts had affected the medical staff significantly, and so he wanted to introduce himself to the head physician and make sure they were prepared for the consequences of having a nuclear bomb on a jaeger. Thirty seconds out from the entrance to Medical, Herc felt the distinctive headache that signaled the presence of another immortal.

Grimly, Herc stepped inside the clinic. The lobby, once capable of hosting fifty patients, was empty; a nondescript Hispanic woman whose nametag identified her as ‘Maria’ was staffing the reception desk. 

“Can I help you, sir?” she asked pleasantly.

“I came by to speak with the head physician. Is he or she available?”

Maria pulled up the schedule on her computer. “One moment, let me check with her, sir.”

A few minutes later, Maria led him to the head physician’s office. A woman in a white lab coat sat at the desk, frowning over something she was reading on screen. Her long dark brown hair was pulled back in a twisted ponytail. “Be with you in a minute,” she told Herc. “Have a seat.”

Herc silently admired her courage. He could tell she was the other immortal he’d sensed, yet she didn’t seem fazed. _How old or experienced would you have to be to pull off this kind of stunt?_ he wondered. “Something interesting?” he asked.

She turned her attention to him, revealing a wide oval shaped face, a straight nose, brown eyes, and a mouth that looked like it had smiled a lot. She looked to be about early forties, and radiated sophistication and confidence. “It is if you’re into the problems of sanitation in underdeveloped countries,” she said easily, her words flavored by a slight French accent. “Grace Chandel,” she introduced herself, reaching across to shake his hand. 

“Herc Hansen,” he said in turn. “Wasn’t expecting…”

Grace smiled. “I usually work in rural villages, teaching people how to prevent the spread of disease as well as birthing babies and dealing with injuries from farm implements. I was getting burned out, and Richie suggested I come work for the PPDC.” She shrugged ruefully. “He can be very persuasive. I was in Lima before this; we just missed each other the last time you were there.”

“Wondered who that was,” Herc said.

“Now you know. For the record, I prefer to save lives, not take them.”

“Understood,” Herc said. He wasn’t sure what to say next, but the way Grace looked at him expectantly made him think. “I’d rather kill kaiju.”

“Then we’ll have no quarrel.” Briskly, she changed the subject. “If you’re worried about radiation exposure, I can tell you that it will slow your healing.”

“More worried about if we’re prepared as a whole than anything for myself, but I appreciate the info,” Herc said.

Grace smiled reassuringly. “This department may be only five people now, but the PPDC has had radiation protocols since the Mark-1s were discovered to have issues with shielding. It’s right up there with kaiju blue poisoning.”

“Well, considering we aren’t funded by the UN anymore, I was worried that some things might’ve fallen by the wayside.”

“Not on my watch. We will not run this like a village in the Amazon, although –” She flashed a smile. “Given that I have six centuries of medical experience and have worked in the Amazon, it would be a gloriously well–equipped village.”

Herc laughed. “Point made. If you need anything, please let me know.”

“Will do,” Grace said. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Ranger Hansen.” 

“The same,” Herc said, and feeling more reassured than when he’d arrived, left.


	4. Chapter 4

Two days later, Stacker returned with Raleigh Becket in tow. Herc had been conferring with Meitetsu and Richie about the morning’s test walk, where they’d made sure the now-affixed bomb didn’t interfere with Striker’s range of motion. Chuck had yet to change out of his drive suit and Herc bit back a sigh; he swore sometimes his son would sleep in his drive suit if Herc allowed it. Herc much preferred the comfort of his shorts, t-shirt, and vest; if it felt reassuring to have his sheathed sword at his back, he wasn’t going to admit it aloud. Max sat at Herc’s feet, content to just wait; the leash was a comforting weight in Herc’s hand as he went over the morning’s results.

Max barked twice, alerting the Hansens to the presence of someone they knew.

“Herc! Chuck! Gentlemen, welcome to Hong Kong!” Stacker called as he approached, and Herc shook his head. It was just like his old friend to make it sound like they’d just arrived when they’d been there for days; Stacker had always leaned a bit towards the dramatic. Herc knew that Stacker was due back from Alaska today and, from the text he’d received, that Stacker had been successful in locating Raleigh Becket.

Certain that if Chuck were to be introduced to his former teenage crush, Chuck’s first words would not be flattering, Herc glanced over at his son, who’d moved forward at the sound of his name. “Wait here,” he ordered, picking up his jacket from the rolling toolbox on the off chance Stacker needed him to go outside. Herc was certain if he was going to be following Stacker around, the chances of needing to go outside were high.

Stepping forward, tugging gently on Max’s leash as he did so, Herc saw instantly that Stacker was not alone. Accompanying him was his adopted daughter Mako Mori, dressed in her engineer’s uniform, and a man Herc didn’t get a good look of since he was on Stacker’s left.

“Max! Come here!” Mako called, her voice a welcome in itself.

“Don’t drool over Miss Mori,” Herc told the bulldog firmly as he dropped Max’s leash. Eagerly, the dog moved forward, and Mako knelt to greet him warmly. “He sees a pretty girl and he gets all wound up.”

“Remember me?” she asked the dog, petting him.

Herc smiled at the sight, aware that Chuck’s friendship with Mako had endured despite Chuck’s attempts to push her away. Stacker had absolutely refused to allow Mako to have any pets. Chuck had been sufficiently horrified at the notion that he’d offered Mako the privilege of petting Max anytime she wanted – a privilege she indulged in every chance she got.

Herc looked up from where Mako was petting Max to greet Stacker and Raleigh. Raleigh looked like he was swimming in that weatherproof coat he wore, Herc thought, followed immediately by _Shit, it’s an Anti-Kaiju Wall Crew coat. Chuck is not going to like that at all_. Herc had read the confidential report on Raleigh’s fitness post-Knifehead – neural damage due to piloting Gipsy Danger solo, left arm shattered in multiple places, drive suit burns, PTSD, and multiple other complications. The Beckets had one of the highest Drift compatibility ratios ever – 83% – and Herc wished, for a moment, he’d never seen the report that also claimed that Raleigh had been given a kind of permanent Ghost Drift with his now deceased brother. Herc was relieved to see Raleigh alive; he’d had a taste of what copiloting alone could feel like and shuddered at the implications of what Raleigh had experienced.

Raleigh’s olive drab duffel bags were slung over his shoulders, and he wore mud-covered work boots. He looked, Herc thought, like every photo he’d ever seen of an Anti-Kaiju Wall worker. It made Herc wonder if Stacker had pulled him straight off the job.

“Raleigh, this is Hercules Hansen, an old friend from the Mark-1 glory days,” Stacker introduced them as if Raleigh might’ve forgotten. Herc bit back the inevitable sigh that accompanied Stacker’s use of his full name; Stacker felt it was more appropriate for formal introductions.

“I know you, mate, rode together before,” Herc said, clasping Raleigh’s hand. _He looks so damn sad_ , ran through Herc’s mind.

“We did, sir, six years ago,” Raleigh said as they shook hands. “My brother and I. It was a three-jaeger team drop.”

“That’s right, Manila,” Herc said, nodding. “Sorry about your brother.”

“Thank you, sir,” Raleigh said earnestly.

“Hercules and his son, Chuck, will be running point using Striker Eureka,” Stacker said. “Fastest jaeger in the world,” and they all turned to look up at the jaeger, which was getting its cannons reloaded. “First and last of the Mark-5s,” Stacker continued. “Australia decommissioned it a day before the Sydney attacks.”

“It was lucky we were still around,” Herc said, turning away from the sight of Striker.

“Now it’s running point for us,” Stacker said.

“Wait, running point on what? You haven’t told me what I’m doing here.” Raleigh sounded confused and a little impatient.

Stacker looked down as he peeled off the black gloves he’d been wearing. Taking a deep breath, he then met Raleigh’s gaze. “We’re going for the Breach, Mr. Becket. We’re going to strap a 2,400 pound thermonuclear warhead to Striker’s back. Detonation equivalent of 2 million tons of TNT and you and the two other jaegers’ll be running defense for them.” 

“I thought we were the Resistance,” Raleigh murmured. “Where’d you get something that big?”

“You see the Russians back there? They can get us anything.” Stacker let that sink in a moment before he started to walk away. “Herc, shall we?” 

“Good to have you back,” Herc told Raleigh, gesturing to underscore his words.

“Thank you, sir,” Raleigh replied, still sounding a little unsure. 

Herc heard Mako tell Raleigh, “I’ll show you to your jaeger now,” as Herc lengthened his stride to catch up with his old friend and commanding officer.

A moment later, he heard Raleigh call out, “Marshal!”

Stacker and Herc stopped to see Raleigh walk up to them, his duffel bags clinking. “Sir, we’ve hit the Breach before. It doesn’t work. Nothing goes through. What’s changed?”

Some part of Herc, afraid that Raleigh’s spirit had been broken, was relieved to see him question Stacker’s plan.

“I’ve got a plan,” Stacker said. “I need you ready. That’s all.” He moved away. “Let’s go, Herc.”

Herc didn’t look back, aware that Stacker believed in being a fixed point. To do anything less was to weaken a leader’s position in the eyes of the people who followed him. It was a principle Herc agreed with, but thought that Stacker could take it too far. He waited until they were out of earshot before commenting, “You know if he’s anything like he was before, Raleigh’s not going to just accept that answer.” 

“He didn’t want to come,” Stacker revealed as he led the way to K-science. “Believes that no one should Drift with him because he’s too messed up.”

“What changed his mind?”

“Asked him where he’d rather die, there on that stupid Wall, or in a jaeger.”

 _Damn it,_ Herc thought. _Figures Stacker would ask that question, knowing that any jaeger pilot worth the name would answer ‘in a jaeger’._ “He’s not suicidal, is he?”

“I leave that judgment to the shrinks,” Stacker said evenly, “but if I thought he was, I wouldn’t bring him here. He said he took the job on the Wall because no one would hire him for anything else. After Miss Mori’s shown him Gipsy Danger, he has appointments with Medical.” Stacker glanced over at Herc. “If he clears Dr. Chandel’s evaluation, we’ll start candidate tryouts in the morning.”

That reassured Herc. “And if he doesn’t?”

“Then we go to Plan B,” Stacker said as he depressed the button for the elevator.

“Have we discussed Plan B?” Herc said pointedly.

“No, and no, it doesn’t involve your brother. Trust me, Hercules.”

“How can I when you use my full name when I’ve told you I don’t like it?” Herc said grumpily.

Stacker didn’t say anything, but Herc could feel his old friend laughing on the inside from the way he somehow managed to stand that much more at attention.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this chapter and wound up doing a transcription of the movie instead, which bored me, so you're getting the after show. Feel free to rewatch the scene in K-Science before reading this chapter and pretend it's here. :-)

_“In four days we could see a kaiju coming every eight hours until they are coming every four minutes. Marshal, we should witness a double event within seven days.”_

Herman Gottlieb’s words echoed in Herc’s mind as he followed Stacker out of K-science. Even as he reconsidered them, Herc thought about what he’d told Newt Geizler – that initiating a Drift with a kaiju brain would cause a neural surge sufficient to kill a person. Herc hoped that the threat of death would be enough to keep Newt from trying it – but he’d come to know both scientists, and knew their dedication to kaiju science bordered on obsession. Obsession could make a man do dangerous things.

Stacker led Herc to his office, where he put away his gloves and started a pot of tea. “How’d this morning’s test go?”

“Payload’s secure and it doesn’t affect Striker’s movement. My concern is if we are hit from behind, we may not be able to launch.” Herc turned one of the guest chairs to face the desk and sat down.

“Noted,” Stacker said briskly, and poured the hot water over the tea leaves he’d put in the ceramic tea pot. He brought the pot and two cups to his desk, then arranged it so that one of the empty cups was in front of Herc, the tea pot in the middle, and the other cup in front of his seat. Stacker then sat down.

Familiar with this routine, Herc didn’t immediately pour. “Do we have all the PONs equipment secured?”

“Check with Dylan,” Stacker said. “But yes, last I checked it was under lock and key.” He paused. “You’re worried.”

“From what I heard, I have every right to be,” Herc said evenly.

Stacker sighed and poured the tea, releasing the fragrant scent of the black tea blend he preferred. “If I thought tossing more jaegers at the problem would solve it, I’d have Mako requisition another jaeger from Oblivion Bay, but you and I know that’s not going to help. We need to close the Breach once and for all.”

Herc blew on his tea to cool it and took a sip before replying. “And what happens if this fails like everything else we’ve tried? Worst case scenario, we’re out of jaegers and experienced pilots and the kaiju will be coming faster than we have spare jaegers.”

Stacker sipped his tea. “Have a little faith, Herc.”

“Faith I’ve plenty of,” Herc shot back. “It’s just you and me here, Stacks. I’m not a suit you have to impress and I’ve known you too long. What is your plan B?”

Stacker looked at Herc. “Why do you insist on making me reveal my cards when the play hasn’t even started?”

“Because you’re stalling?” Herc arched an eyebrow.

Stacker rolled his shoulders. “I have a rough plan B,” he admitted. “But I’d rather not play that hand until we can assess the situation. Too much is in the air now to pull the strings on that plan, but yes, the groundwork is there.”

Aware that his friend wouldn’t tell him any more than that, Herc took another sip of tea. “Was that so hard to admit?”

Stacker shot him an exasperated look. “You act like I’m going to die tomorrow and you’ll be left with no crib sheet for my playbook.”

Herc shook his head. “That’s part of it, but it’s also,” Herc sighed, “trying to be a good 2IC for you. I can’t execute a plan if I don’t understand it. You know that.”

Now Stacker smiled. “Then let’s run with plan A,” he said firmly as a knock sounded on his door. “Come in,” he said to his visitor.

Mako entered. “Mr. Becket has been notified of his appointment with Medical as requested, sir. He is scheduled to see Dr. Chandel after lunch. Mr. Becket was shocked to see that Gipsy Danger is his new jaeger.”

“I can imagine,” Stacker said, and Herc remembered his own shock at seeing Coyote Tango restored a few years before. That success had paved the way for Gipsy's restoration, though Herc knew the decision had been made not to restore Coyote Tango a second time after the Tunaris, who'd piloted it after Stacker and Tamsin, had fallen in battle. “Anything else, Miss Mori?”

“The candidates have been notified to be ready for tryouts tomorrow at 0600. The conn-pod customizations for harness fittings are the last item on the list of repairs for Gipsy; weapons are scheduled to be loaded in two days’ time. If Mr. Becket does not clear Medical, we will proceed with compatibility testing among the candidates.”

“Thank you, Miss Mori. Do you have any observations to share?”

Mako hesitated before replying, “No, sir.”

Stacker just looked at her.

“He said that sometimes in battle you make decisions that you have to live with the rest of your life, and he sounded like he regretted the decision he made,” Mako said with her typical bluntness.

“Were you expecting him to be still be cocky about it?” Herc wondered. “His brother died.”

“I…perhaps a bit,” Mako said, straightening her shoulders. “Reading someone’s record and watching their interviews is not the same as meeting them in person.” Looking slightly uncomfortable, she turned to Stacker. “I do feel that he is ready to fight, sir.”

Stacker acknowledged her words with a nod. “Good. Thank you for reporting in, Miss Mori. Dismissed.”

Mako nodded, then made an abbreviated bow before she exited.

Not for the first time, Herc wondered how Stacker managed to delineate his relationship with Mako so neatly. Most who met Mako now had no idea that she was Stacker’s adopted daughter; they just assumed that she was a high-ranking engineer. Then again, perhaps he shouldn’t throw stones; it wasn’t like he was going to win any father of the year awards either, given the way he and Chuck operated these days.

“Need anything else from me?” Herc asked, finishing off his tea.

Stacker shook his head. “Not for now.”

“I’ll check with Dylan, then, about the security on those spare PONs units, and see if they need anything. If you don’t hear from me, it’s been handled.”

“Good. Dismissed, Herc.”

It still felt odd to know he didn’t have to salute Stacker now that they were the Resistance. “Thanks for the tea, Marshal.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short, sorry, but there's a lot of stuff in the next one, I promise. :-)

Herc found Dylan Carrodus in her new office next to LOCCENT. The operations manager of a Shatterdome handled everything that wasn’t LOCCENT and the jaeger pilots, which meant that maintenance, jaeger parts, jaeger crews, security, and facilities were in her control. 

“Settled in?” Herc asked as he stepped inside the room.

“Mostly,” Dylan admitted. “What can I do for you?”

“Are the jaeger parts lockers secured and monitored?”

“I’ll do a check, but they should be. Anything I should be aware of?”

Herc shook his head, unwilling to point unnecessary fingers when he had no proof, just a gut feeling. “Maybe my paranoia talking, but I’d feel better if we took a look?’’

Dylan nodded and rose. “This way,” she said.

Ten minutes later, Herc stared at the chain on the locker. A padlock secured the chain to the heavy-duty wire cage. “This setup won’t stop anyone,” he said disgustedly. “These lockers weren’t designed for secure storage, and a good bolt cutter will snap that chain.” 

“Agreed. I’ll make sure the bolt cutters are secured and a guard posted on this locker, but…” She looked at Herc. “We only have a third of the staff we used to. Right now we’re more worried about someone setting off a bomb at the front gate than we are internal security.”

Herc sighed in frustration. “A guard checking on it is better than none,” he decided. “And I could be worrying for nothing.”

“Let’s hope so,” Dylan said.


	7. Chapter 7

By the time Herc had finished with Dylan, it was lunchtime and Herc’s stomach was growling. He found Chuck waiting with Max in the mess hall. 

“Not eating?” Herc asked.

“Not really hungry,” Chuck said, and Herc rolled his eyes mentally, translating it to ‘yes, but I can’t decide and I’d rather eat an energy bar than choose.’

Since Max wasn’t allowed in the serving line, Herc loaded up two plates, hoping to tempt Chuck into eating something other than an energy bar. Running into Raleigh made Herc decide that Chuck could get his own plate, and there were potatoes and vegetables on the tables already. By Chuck’s comment to Raleigh about Herc being more of his copilot, Herc knew he’d annoyed his son by giving away the second plate. 

Chuck didn’t make things any easier. “So, you’re the guy who’s running defense for me in that old rust bucket of yours,” he told Raleigh.

Herc, who was about to cut into his meatloaf, paused at the way Chuck cut him out of the equation entirely. He didn’t say anything, though, sensing that Chuck needed to get out this anger he was feeling. Still, it made Herc feel like he’d failed – if he’d been a better father, he could have addressed Chuck’s feelings properly instead of just hoping they’d go away. 

Herc tuned into the conversation in time to realize that Chuck had seen the coat Raleigh had been wearing when he’d walked through the ‘dome. _Damn it, damn it, just what we needed, Raleigh pissed at Chuck. If he’s anything like he was, we’ll have a fight. And that shot about me liking Raleigh and here we go again with mediocre pilots bringing down the jaeger program….fuck. I should’ve told Chuck what Raleigh did sooner; maybe it would’ve shifted his opinion that it wasn’t his fault, but the kaiju. Why did I ever think that keeping secrets was a good thing? Oh, yeah, right, because the time I thought he could handle the truth, he proceeded to hold it against me._

“If you slow me down, I’ll drop you like a sack of kaiju shit, Raleigh,” Chuck told Raleigh, his hand motion underscoring his words as he exaggerated Raleigh’s name. Chuck stood and called to his dog, who was off leash, again, Herc noted with dismay. “Come on, Max.” Chuck left, the dog following beside him obediently.

Feeling like he needed to apologize for his son, Herc said, “You can blame me for that one. I raised him on my own. Smart kid, but I never knew whether to give him a hug or a kick in his ass.” Herc took a bite of his lunch.

“With respect, sir, “ Raleigh said, and waited for Herc to look at him before continuing, “If it were me, you know which one I’d pick,” Raleigh said, and turned his attention to his food.

Herc lost a bit of his appetite after that, but forced himself to eat a little more to fuel his body’s needs. 

“If you need anything, Raleigh,” Herc said, deciding he’d eaten enough, “let me know.”

Raleigh hesitated before asking, “What happened to your brother?”

“He was injured in our last battle in Lucky Seven,” Herc said, the cover story automatic now after so many years of repeating it. “He can’t pilot anymore.”

“Sorry to hear it.” Raleigh paused before adding, “Please don’t feel like you need stick around on my account, sir. Unless there’s something you want to ask me?”

Herc shook his head. “Only wanted to let you know that if makes any difference to you, the decision to discharge you wasn’t a local decision.”

“I know,” Raleigh said quietly. “The Gages found me a few months after I left and told me. They wanted to be sure I understood. I appreciate you reminding me, sir.”

Herc nodded tightly. The Gages had been ex-military, but they’d been good men who’d hated bad orders. “Good to know they were able to pass that on to you, despite being officially told not to.”

“I figure since they’re dead now, it’s hearsay at this point,” Raleigh replied.

Herc smiled briefly at that. “Enjoy the rest of your lunch and get some rest,” he told Raleigh and left the mess hall.


	8. Chapter 8

The following morning, Herc and Chuck stood with the Wei Tangs, the Kaidonovskys, and the twenty-five candidates who’d been chosen to try out. The other twenty-five would be tested tomorrow; Stacker wanted time to make sure that whoever would pilot with Raleigh would be able to do some conn-pod testing. Herc privately thought that Stacker’s timetable was nuts, but if the kaiju attacked tomorrow, having a fourth jaeger available would be beneficial. Herc had also read Dr. Chandel’s report on Raleigh, which had declared him to be physically fit if slightly malnourished. The psychiatric report from Dr. P’eng, the ‘dome’s remaining psychiatrist, had been cautionary; her “we put other pilots with high PTSD back in the saddle” comment made Herc wonder if she’d seen Stacker’s file. Herc knew his friend had tried to dodge being grounded after his copilot’s incident in their jaeger in Tokyo. Herc knew, too, that the number of pilots who had yet to be diagnosed with cancer were three (Herc wasn't counting his brother and didn't care), and Stacker wasn’t one of them.

Herc was pleased to see, though, that Raleigh remembered his jaeger bushido and that his form was good. Five years was a long time to go without training, and Herc spared a moment to wonder who’d been sparring against him. Raleigh looked good; his candidates, for being out of the last Jaeger Academy class, looked like they’d forgotten what the goal was. Raleigh was wiping the mat with them, and it took Herc several rounds to notice that Raleigh was holding back.

“Where’d Mako find these guys?” Chuck muttered, sotto voce, as he stood next to his father. “You’d think they’d be trying harder to get into a jaeger.”

Herc glanced at his son. “It’s a dialogue, not a fight,” he reminded Chuck. 

“Yeah, well, if I had to get into a jaeger or none at all, I’d be trying harder to connect,” Chuck said. “Even if Raleigh’s a has-been.”

Herc sighed. For Chuck, the end goal had always been to fight the kaiju. “Has to be someone compatible, else the Drift won't work.”

Raleigh’s current opponent hit the mat with a thud as Mako called out the score. “Four to one,” she said.

“Rate he’s going,” Chuck said scathingly, “we’ll be out of candidates.” He watched Raleigh block another hit. “Didn’t think he’d remember how to do this,” Chuck added with grudging admiration.

Herc didn’t respond, aware that he would wind up baiting his son if he did. He knew having Chuck approve of Raleigh wasn’t necessary, but Herc understood that if you liked someone, you were more likely to fight for him or her. Herc was willing to take grudging admiration over yet another pointed barb at has-been pilots.

A break for lunch was taken. When they came back and Raleigh took out his first challenger in five minutes, Raleigh glanced at the crowd watching, then at Stacker and Mako, who stood on the other side of the mat. For moment, Raleigh looked like he was going to say something, but held his tongue. Four candidates later, Mako called out the latest score. “Four points to two.”

Herc couldn’t have predicted what happened next. Raleigh not only called Mako out on her judgment of his tactics – tactics Herc would’ve used if he’d been in the same shoes – but dared Stacker to give Mako the chance to spar against him. Watching Mako and Raleigh fight was a thing of beauty.

“He’s going to be disappointed,” Chuck murmured as the match ended.

Herc glared at his son, who turned smug as soon as Stacker finished telling Raleigh his hope for Mako as his copilot wasn’t going to work. 

“Report to your jaeger at 0800 tomorrow morning; you’ll meet your copilot then,” Stacker said with finality. 

_Damn it, Stacker, you’re being an ass, _Herc thought. Stacker had developed jaeger bushido to test Drift Compatibility; if anyone could see two people compatible this way, it was him. Judging from the murmurs in Russian from the Kaidonovskys, they felt the same way Herc did.__

__“Don’t you say anything to Raleigh,” Herc told Chuck, who scowled. Herc didn’t bother to look back at his son as he headed in Stacker’s direction, intending to give him a piece of his mind, whether he wanted it or not. Mako brushed past him, head bowed, her boots in her hand._ _

__Herc caught up with Stacker in his office. “What the hell was that kind of decision, Stacker?” Herc demanded as soon as the door shut behind them. “Because from where I’m standing it sounded like a father’s decision, not a marshal’s.”_ _

__Stacker looked at Herc. “You know I found Mako in the rubble of Onibaba’s destruction in Toyko. Her thirst for vengeance –”_ _

__“Is the same as Chuck’s,” Herc shot back. “And he’s seen what his uncle’s done. The Jaeger Academy turned what happened in Lucky Seven into our second sim battle because they didn’t know the whole story – they thought it was just another bad day in a jaeger. Any of us can chase a RABIT. The key is control.”_ _

__“I’m trying to be –”_ _

__“A fixed point, I know,” Herc said, and got an exasperated, warning look for his behavior. Herc wasn't cowed; he'd known Stacker too long to be. “But there’s being a fixed point and being an idiot, Stacks. Have you forgotten that we have protocols to deal with this? We sit the pilots down and make them talk about potential triggers and RABITs. We don’t ignore Drift compatibility when we see it. Raleigh beat twenty candidates today and he was holding back, hoping they’d see it and meet him in the middle. You want to put one of those guys in with him instead? We tried that kind of shit with Echo Sabre’s pilots and look what happened to them. We’re lucky they’re still sane, but there’s no way they’re ever piloting again.”_ _

__“Mako is not your son,” Stacker shot back. “And –” He sighed and looked down at his hands before speaking again. “And the last time I saw Drift compatibility like that, we had more time to work through problems.”_ _

__“So we make use of the time we have,” Herc said. “Because if your Plan B involves a jaeger cobbled together out of the spare parts I saw down in storage, then we’re going to need every qualified pilot we can get.”_ _

__Stacker smiled ruefully. “If I heard this from anyone else, I wouldn’t consider it.”_ _

__“If you wanted someone to just follow your orders, Stacker, you’d have picked Dylan or one of the other marshals. You picked me, so deal with it,” Herc said firmly._ _

__Stacker laughed briefly. “My own damn fault, you’re saying?”_ _

__Herc spread his hands wide. “If the shoe fits. Now, the conn-pod test isn’t until the morning. I know we don’t have any sim rooms anymore, but at least let me corral them together in a room and discuss things like the shrinks always wanted us to.”_ _

__“Am I wrong for wanting to protect my daughter a little longer?”_ _

__“No,” Herc said readily. “But you and I both know that the true test of compatibility is in a conn-pod, and if you don’t have your shit together before then, things go sideways in a hurry. Even then, we’ve given people second chances; it’s rare for someone to chase a RABIT a second time. If you have a better plan than putting Mako and Raleigh together, I’d love to hear it.”_ _

__Stacker sighed. “I looked at Mako’s evaluations for the remaining candidates. Even if we ran through the others, I doubt we’ll find a match for Raleigh. He’s…more cautious now.”_ _

__“I don’t know why that seems to surprise you and Mako so much,” Herc said, annoyed on Raleigh’s behalf._ _

__“Because neither of us thought he would be so changed. He was the cocky, impulsive one,” Stacker said evenly. He let out a breath. “All right. One test, and they talk about their pasts before they get into the conn-pod. If it goes sideways, then we both have our answers.”_ _

__Satisfied by that answer, Herc asked, “Do you want me to tell them?”_ _

__“I’ll tell Mako,” Stacker decided. “You take care of Raleigh.”_ _

__Herc pulled up the Shatterdome’s map on the wall-mounted video screen. “Conference room 1B on the first floor or the smaller one down by the jaeger bays?”_ _

__“No privacy on the second one,” Stacker said._ _

__Herc pressed the touchscreen to reserve the other room he’d suggested. He turned in time to see Stacker press a handkerchief to his nose to stem a sudden nosebleed. Mentally, he swore; he knew Stacker had cancer, but had been in remission a long time. Not giving his old friend a chance to object, Herc used the ‘dome’s paging system to send Dr. Chandel a private page – one that would go only to her and not be heard stationwide._ _

__“Is everything all right?” Dr. Chandel asked as she appeared on the screen._ _

__Stacker glared at Herc but answered the physician. “My nosebleeds have started again.”_ _

__“I’ll be right there. Stay put,” she advised, and switched off her screen._ _

__“You know whatever she gives me is not going to stop this cancer,” Stacker told Herc quietly._ _

__“Humor me,” Herc said. “Besides. I know you. You don’t want to see Mako while bleeding like a stuck pig, do you?”_ _

__“No,” Stacker admitted. “You ever going to tell me how you managed to avoid this shit?”_ _

__“Magic,” Herc said blandly, aware that Stacker didn’t believe that answer and hadn’t in all the times he’d told him. It didn’t feel fair to tell Stacker about immortality, not when Stacker had a snowball’s chance in hell at it._ _


	9. Chapter 9

After leaving Stacker in Dr. Chandel’s care, Herc headed over to Raleigh’s quarters. 

“Sir,” Raleigh said as he opened the door. “What can I do for you?”

“You and Mako will be in the conn-pod together tomorrow morning, but you need to debrief each other first. Meeting is in twenty minutes in Conference Room 1B, which is on the first floor by the administrative offices.”

Raleigh blinked, startled. “I thought Marshal Pentecost made his decision.”

Herc smiled. “He did. I didn’t agree. I suspect you didn’t know this before you threw out your challenge, but Mako is Marshal Pentecost’s adopted daughter. He rescued her in Tokyo, after Onibaba hit.”

Raleigh winced. “I, uh, kinda wished I knew that.” He rolled his shoulders back. “Don’t regret it, though.”

“Didn’t think you would. You two were in sync on that mat. Now, you think you can find your way to that conference room or do you want to stand here discussing things?”

Raleigh grinned. “I’ll be there. Thanks, sir.”

“It’s Herc. Only ‘sir’ around here is the marshal. It’ll take you fifteen to get up there, so you might as well leave now,” Herc told him, and held open the door so Raleigh could exit.

Assured that Raleigh was headed in the right direction, Herc went to set up the drive suit fittings Raleigh and Mako would need before the morning. That task complete, he checked in with LOCCENT, where he found Tendo Choi, now the LOCCENT chief for the Hong Kong Shatterdome, seated in front of one of the many side control consoles, muttering curses in Spanish as he tried to repair it. Tendo’s black hair was in its usual pompadour, and he’d traded the gray LOCCENT tech uniform for a white button-down shirt, suspenders, and khaki slacks. Herc liked the look, but he’d enjoyed the way Tendo joked with everyone.

“Problem, Tendo?” Herc asked.

Tendo looked up at Herc and pulled out a circuit board. “This piece of crap keeps frying itself because it’s a design that came out in 2000 and can’t handle the load, so I’ve a runner out in Hong Kong trying to get me something that actually works. Until then, this is the second-to-last spare part I have.”

“What it’s for?”

Tendo gestured to a panel at the end of the bank of controls. “The fail-safe switch in case we have to shut down a jaeger manually with extreme prejudice.”

Herc winced. “What idiot thought that would be the best solution?”

“Herc, my friend, you don’t want to know what systems are running on ancient tech here, do you? Most of this stuff was built in 2014; Hong Kong is the oldest Shatterdome, so you’re looking at eleven-year-old tech at least.”

“Probably not,” Herc admitted. “But please promise that you’re going to get this fixed before we put anyone into a conn-pod?”

“That’s the plan,” Tendo said. “But we’ll conduct the test with the weapons turned off, just like we would for any other new jaeger team.”

“Good,” Herc said. “I was hoping you’d go that route.”

“Hey, just because Hong Kong was run by people who thought they were hot stuff doesn’t mean I’m going to let their shit be my shit,” Tendo said defensively. “Besides, I owe it to Raleigh to do what I can. Just don’t tell him I said I am – he won’t appreciate it.”

“I won’t,” Herc promised. “I take it you and the Beckets were friends?”

Tendo nodded. “Used to hang out together during the downtimes; they were good guys. Feels a little weird to see Raleigh around without Yancy; those two were joined at the hip.” He was silent a moment. “Anyway, I should get back to this.” He waved the circuit board.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“No, I’m good,” Tendo said. “Appreciate the offer.” He paused. “Though, can I get a hand up? I think my legs went to sleep.”

Grinning, Herc assisted the LOCCENT chief. Tendo wobbled dangerously before wincing. “Ow. Pins and needles. Ow.”

“Walk around a bit, get something to eat. Sounds like you’re going to have a long night.”

“Yeah, good idea,” Tendo said.

Herc nodded and then left, heading for the conference room. He wanted to give Raleigh and Mako time to talk without feeling supervised; it was time now to check in and see where they were. He found them talking quietly in Japanese, Raleigh sounding as fluent as he was in English, and smiled. Knocking on the door to announce himself, he asked, “Everything okay?”

“I think we’re on the same page now,” Raleigh said.

“We’re ready,” Mako added.

“I recommend you spend some more time together,” Herc told them. “Talking about the stuff that could be a RABIT inducing memory only gets easier if you don’t feel like you’ve just bared your soul to a stranger. Especially since the two of you just met.”

“We were just discussing if we should practice some more or go up on the observation deck.”

“Still raining out there, last I heard,” Herc told them. “Just don’t wear yourselves out whatever you do. Make sure you swing by the drive suit room sometime in the next hour so your circuitry suits can be fitted.”

“We should do that first,” Raleigh suggested. “Then go from there.”

“Any questions I can answer before you two head off?”

“Have they made the circuitry suits any better since I last piloted?” Raleigh wondered. “The ones we had didn’t breathe really well.”

Herc smiled. “They’re better, yes. More like a second skin than they were at first.”

Raleigh looked relieved at the news.

“Anything else?” Herc asked.

“Not that I can think of,” Mako said. “Thank you for setting this up for us.”

“You’re welcome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sharp-eyed readers will notice that I'm diverging from canon a bit, so here's your fair warning: I'm going to continue. 
> 
> ~~Also, I'm trying to write as much as I can before my week goes haywire, as it's scheduled to do. Updates may be erratic.~~


	10. Chapter 10

The following morning, Herc stood in LOCCENT, just behind the main control console, on Stacker’s left about a person’s width away. Tendo had assured Herc that all was well and all systems were online save for the weapons array, which had been disabled per standard new-jaeger/new-pilot protocols. Tendo slid his rolling chair down to the right as he flipped various switches and checked his screens.

“Prepare for neural handshake,” Stacker declared. Herc chanced a look at his friend, wondering what he was feeling and thinking right now. It made Herc flash back to when he and Chuck had first Drifted together – and Herc thought, if he’d had to watch his son instead of being in the conn-pod with him, there’s no way he’d been able to stand like Stacker was, all rimrod straight. Then Herc glanced at Stacker’s hands and realized Stacker had threaded them together to keep from showing his nerves. Herc bit back the knowing grin, aware that Stacker wouldn’t appreciate any comments.

“Initiating neural handshake,” Tendo said as he pressed buttons and flipped switches on the middle of his console.

LOCCENT’s viewing window had a clear view of Gipsy Danger as her nuclear core was powered up and the service gantries, platforms, and support hooks were pulled away. Herc automatically found himself going through his mental checklist as if he was in a jaeger.

“Right hemisphere calibrated,” Gipsy’s female AI announced, her odd diction coming clear through LOCCENT’s speakers. Herc was grateful Chuck wasn’t present to hear it; he’d thought – when Gipsy’s stats were known – that using the same voice as a popular video game was creepy, a sentiment Herc shared. Herc knew that Gipsy wasn’t the only one to have an AI with a well-known voice; Lucky Seven had had an AI that sounded like Wayne Newton, which had inspired its name.

“Left hemisphere calibrated,” Gipsy’s AI intoned. “Ready to activate the jaeger.”

From the screens, Herc could see that Raleigh had taken the left side of the jaeger and Mako the right. Gipsy’s right arm pulled back, then her left, and then Gipsy made the traditional two-fisted ready-to-fight pose.

“Okay, Gipsy, lining up nicely,” Tendo said, standing up as he put his hands in the 3D projection of the jaeger and pressed more buttons. Turning to Stacker and Herc as he grabbed his chair, he said, “Better get ready.”

“Pilot to jaeger connection complete,” Gipsy’s AI intoned. 

_So far, so good,_ Herc thought. Then he heard Dr. Gottlieb’s voice.

“Marshal! Marshal!”

Both Herc and Stacker turned to see Dr. Gottlieb, who strode forward as fast as he could while using a cane. 

“I need to talk to you,” Dr. Gottlieb said, sounding out of breath.

“Not now, Dr. Gottlieb,” Stacker said, turning back to the viewing window as Herc did the same. “I’m sure you can appreciate how important this moment is to me.”

“Newton created a neural bridge from garbage and Drifted with a kaiju.”

Alarmed, both Stacker and Herc turned away from the sight of Gipsy moving her arms in the standard test pattern for calibration.

 _Fuck, he did it anyway,_ Herc thought. _Where’d he get the bolt cutters? Aw, damn it, I never thought to look in K-science – he would’ve had a set since kaiju bones are so thick, they only can be cut with bolt cutters. If he timed it so the patrol was gone… I hope he’s alive._

“Stay here,” Stacker ordered Herc. “I’ll find out what’s happened.” With that, Stacker followed Dr. Gottlieb out of LOCCENT.

A few minutes later, the calibration was complete. Herc felt the faint trickle of a pre-immortal and turned to see that Chuck had chosen to join him in LOCCENT.

“Everybody else is up on the catwalks,” Chuck told Herc. “Too crowded for me. Left Max in our room since he was sleeping.”

Herc nodded, not surprised by the report. 

Gipsy slammed her left hand against the palm of her right hand. Applause echoed through the ‘dome at the movement.

“Pretty impressive,” Herc remarked.

“Yeah, so he remembered how to turn it on,” Chuck derided as he watched Raleigh and Mako flow through the arm movements.

“Oi, show some respect. When his brother died, he got his jaeger to shore on his own. I know of only _one_ other pilot who’s been able to do that,” Herc snapped. 

Chuck took the admonition with his usual ill grace but said nothing. Herc knew that Chuck’s opinion of Stacker wasn’t great, either, thanks to Herc’s irritation at some of Stacker’s plans bleeding through the Drift, but at least Chuck recognized that it wasn’t easy to pilot a jaeger solo. 

Then the alarms sounded on Tendo’s station.

“Pilot out of alignment,” the AI intoned.

“Both out of alignment,” Tendo muttered, checking his screens as the alignment alarm beeped continuously.

“Both of them?” Herc asked in alarm.

Tendo smacked the side of the alignment monitor as if that would help. “Both of them.” He smacked the side of the alignment monitor twice more, then shot to his feet and got on the microphone that connected LOCCENT to the jaeger, clearly forgetting about his headset in his haste. “Gipsy! Gipsy! You’re out of alignment! You are _both_ out of alignment.”

“I’m okay, I’m okay, just let me control it,” Raleigh said hoarsely.

“You’re stabilizing, but Mako is way out,” Tendo said sharply.

“Mako,” Raleigh called.

“She’s starting to chase the RABIT!” Tendo warned as the alarms continued to beep ominously.

“Mako, don’t chase the RABIT. We talked about this yesterday. Come back to me. We’re in Hong Kong, not Tokyo. Stay with me. Stay in the now. Don’t stay in the memory. Mako, please. Don’t chase the RABIT.”

Through LOCCENT’s speakers, Herc could hear Raleigh talking Mako back. Gipsy’s right arm rose, as if Mako intended to fire the I-19 plasma caster. Out of the corner of his eye, Herc could see Chuck move to the jaeger kill switch.

“Mako, talk to me,” Raleigh urged, and then his voice stopped.

For heart-pounding ten minutes, it looked as though Mako was going to override the safeties. Herc found himself echoing his son’s footsteps. If the safeties were overridden, and that circuit board had fried again, that plasma caster was aimed directly at the crowd on the main jaeger catwalk, and it would kill everyone in the ‘dome. 

“Tendo, status?” Herc snapped when he couldn’t stand it anymore. 

“I don’t know! If they’re talking, they’re doing it in the Drift!” Tendo shot back, running between his various readouts. “They’re stabilizing but it’s choppy! Either of them could go out any minute!”

An alarm started bleeping near where Herc stood. 

“Damn it,” Tendo swore. “Not that card. Not now.”

Then Gipsy’s arm dropped to her side.

“Thank God,” Tendo said, sinking into his chair. “You two together now? You almost fried the ‘dome.”

“Sorry,” Mako said breathlessly.

“My fault,” Raleigh added. “Won’t happen again.”

Herc let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and looked at his son, who’d been prepared to pull the plug – literally. Chuck let go of the thick electrical cord.

“That’s supposed to be my backup?” Chuck sneered.

“Oi. Like your first Drift with someone other than me was perfect?” Herc snapped, aware that it hadn’t been.

“I don’t count that,” Chuck shot back. “That was training.”

“Gentlemen,” Stacker ordered, stepping into the room. “No fighting in LOCCENT. Herc, Tendo, report.”

Herc and Tendo brought Stacker up to speed on the situation. “We’ve seen enough, then,” Stacker pronounced. “This test is over.” He leaned into the microphone. “Pilots, disengage and shut it down.”

“Yes, sir,” Raleigh answered for the both of them. Herc thought he could hear disappointment in Raleigh’s voice, and knew that if Stacker hadn’t shut the test down, the next step would’ve been walking the jaeger forward and out into the harbor.

“Is Dr. Geizler all right?” Herc asked.

“Dr. Chandel is looking him over at the moment, but he did receive some vital information,” Stacker said. “Come with me and we’ll discuss this in detail.”

Not bothering to look back, Herc followed Stacker out of LOCCENT. He had a feeling that Stacker was going to ground someone for this, and Herc was almost certain it wouldn’t be Raleigh.


	11. Chapter 11

“You want him to what?” Herc exclaimed. “Drift with a second kaiju brain? So what if he proved it wouldn’t kill him the first time? Who’s to say it won’t the second if he gets his hands on a fresh kaiju brain that’s not been damaged?”

“His experiment proved that we need more information. If what is being sent out of the Breach now are the clone warriors, then we need as much information as we can get to stop them before they send in the armies,” Stacker said reasonably.

“And what if he reveals more information to them?” Herc demanded. “He’s not a jaeger pilot; he’s a scientist who knows that we have a bomb that we are going to drop on the Breach.”

“Which is why I think it’s an acceptable risk,” Stacker replied evenly. “Look, Herc, if Hermann is right and we’re to experience a double event in the next six days, we’re already on a deadline. We need a kaiju to open the Breach in order to drop the bomb.”

“Fine,” Herc said, not liking this plan. “And what about Gipsy?”

“Gipsy is being held in reserve. We will not use her unless it’s absolutely necessary,” Stacker decided, his voice firm. “Mako is grounded; Raleigh is on standby.”

“They didn’t damage anything other than their pride,” Herc pointed out.

Stacker pulled up the report from LOCCENT on his computer. “Mako was out of alignment for an unacceptable length of time,” he said, pointing to the statistic on the screen. “You know the protocol.”

Herc blew out a breath. “Yes, but that can be overcome,” he countered. “Yes, they’re not ready for combat as of this moment. But give them time, they can be.”

“Time is a luxury we don’t have. We do have one candidate out of the twenty Raleigh fought against yesterday who –” 

“Stacker, you’re my best friend and I know you’re trying to do what’s best, but do you really want Raleigh to bare his soul to another stranger, knowing what he knows now?” Herc interrupted. “You and Mako hate bearing your secrets to anyone; you think Raleigh’s going to be okay doing that? You know I know what it’s like to try stuff my brain in someone else’s, after sharing brain space with someone else. In case I haven’t told you lately, it feels like being a slut.”

“And risk blowing up the ‘dome?”

“So take them out in the harbor,” Herc shot back. “Like we did for Puma Real’s pilots.” Herc gentled his tone. “If we had sim rooms still, we’d be spending weeks making sure Raleigh and Mako didn’t chase RABITs and could work together. If Newt Drifts with another kaiju brain, we may only have a short window.” Herc pulled out his ace card. “Don’t think it’s escaped my notice that it was a week between when Gipsy tried shooting its plasma caster at the Breach and then Knifehead.”

Stacker sighed heavily. “Tomorrow then, we try again, this time at the old targeting range.” He held a hand. “Don’t argue with me any more, Herc.”

Herc knew when to retreat, and he did so now and went in search of his son.

“Have you seen Richie?” Chuck asked when they met up near Striker twenty minutes later.

“Not since breakfast this morning, no. Why?”

“I was going to ask him a question but I can’t find him,” Chuck said, sounding worried. “Are you sure he’s not here? You can’t feel him anywhere?”

“Chuck, it’s not like that feeling comes with a personal identifier,” Herc replied. “I’d have to be on Richie’s level to even try. Speaking of – where’s our crew?”

“Meitetsu volunteered them to help with refitting Cherno Alpha with escape pods. The Kaidonovskys are staging a protest; they don’t think it’s necessary.”

“Tough shit,” Herc said. “That jaeger was supposed to be retrofitted three years ago.”

“Still think it’s stupid they weren’t there in the first place,” Chuck griped.

“They wanted to pull the ones out of Striker,” Herc told Chuck. “Someone argued that the Mark-1s didn’t have them, so we didn’t need them either.”

Chuck rolled his eyes. “So who won that argument?”

“Stacker,” Herc replied. “Said if there’d been more escape pods, we might still have some of the best jaeger pilots.”

Then the lights went out in the entire ‘dome and stayed out for thirty seconds. Immortal presence rolled across Herc’s senses as the lights came back on. Dylan’s voice came across the station-wide intercom as she said, “Nobody panic; that was just the power going out briefly. We are not, I repeat not, on the backup generators but if this happens for longer, we may have to be. We have a massive thunderstorm moving through. Please use caution when you’re outside tonight. I will advise if and when we are on backup power.”

As if on cue, Richie walked up, looking soaked to the bone. His brown leather jacket clung wetly to him as did his jeans. Water beaded on his boots and slid off.

“Sorry for the dramatic entrance, guys. I was helping Grace load up the med kits in the jumphawks.”

“Grace? Who’s Grace?” Chuck asked.

“Dr. Chandel,” Richie said easily. “She’s the head doc here now. Meitetsu didn’t need me to translate Russian and there were enough hands to do the job, so he let Grace borrow me. Did you need me for something or is there something on Striker that needs to be done?”

“Did you see the tryouts yesterday?” Chuck asked. “Do you know who’d teach a has-been?”

“I might,” Richie said carefully. “My old teacher tends to stay in the Pacific Northwest, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he volunteered himself.”

“But you don’t know for sure.”

Richie eyed Chuck a moment. “Why does it matter? You can practice forms by yourself, you know.”

“He’s never done it,” Herc inserted. 

“Felt stupid. I don’t pilot a jaeger by myself,” Chuck said crossly.

Richie rolled his eyes. “So go ask Raleigh instead of me if he’s been practicing. I know half a dozen people who could and do teach bushido, so all I can do is speculate. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to change out of these clothes and get dried off.”

“Not like you’ll catch a cold,” Chuck muttered, loud enough for Richie to hear.

Hearing him, Richie stopped and turned around. Stepping into Chuck’s space, he said, “Why don’t you just go ahead and tell everyone what I am while you’re at it, huh? Because that totally solves everything…bzz, not!” Richie looked coldly angry, like the experienced, ex-headhunting immortal he was. “Now I get that you’re the best at what you do, but that doesn’t give you a free pass to fuck with my life. Got it?”

Chuck looked like he was spoiling for a fight, but he backed down from this one. “Got it,” he said. Belatedly, he added, “Sorry, Richie.”

Richie sighed but accepted the apology. “Don’t do it again, Chuck.” With those parting words, he left.

Herc started to say something to add to what Richie had said, but Chuck shot him a look and stalked off. 

Unwilling to chase Chuck down, Herc started to look over the notes Meitetsu, Striker Eureka’s crew chief, had left behind. Herc, like his son, preferred to make sure that his jaeger was in battle-ready condition before he needed it; it had shaved time in emergencies. It had nothing to do with trust in his crew chief, who’d proven his worth on Lucky Seven; it was simply part of Herc’s routine.

“Deputy Marshal Hansen, please report to the marshal’s office,” the pleasant tones of the ‘dome’s intercom system stated several minutes later. “Deputy Marshal Hansen, please report to the marshal’s office.”


	12. Chapter 12

Mako and Raleigh waited outside of Stacker’s office, and Herc nodded a greeting to them before he stepped inside. He found Chuck pacing the narrow strip between the reflecting pools. Stacker’s wall-mounted computer screen was showing a display of facility readiness.

“Oh great, that’s just bloody great,” Chuck said at Herc’s entrance. “You bring my dad in?”

“So he could hear what you had to say as well,” Stacker said evenly. “You wanted me to hear your opinion and I’m hearing it. It doesn’t change my decision.”

“She can barely control her Drift and _he_ went out phase first!”

“We all know what happened,” Stacker said patiently.

“We can’t afford mistakes. The kaiju keep evolving. They keep kicking our asses!” Chuck vented as he came closer to where Stacker sat, his voice loud enough to be heard through the office’s steel door. “He’s a has-been; she’s a rookie! I don’t want them protecting me on _my_ bomb run, sir!” 

Chuck unlocked the office door, tossing it open, and stormed out.

“You need to watch your tone, Mr. Hansen,” Stacker cautioned, and Herc sighed.

Following Chuck and seeing that he was in the hallway, Herc told him, “Hey, stay there. Give me a moment.” He shut the door.

“Was that what you wanted me to hear?” Herc asked wearily as he took the seat Chuck had scorned. “That my son’s an egotistical asshole? That’s not a surprise.”

“It’s bordering on insubordination,” Stacker said. “That is not what I expected or need.”

Herc sighed. “He’s my son. He’s me without any filters, and it’s not like he’s said anything I haven’t said before. Look, I know you don’t like his attitude, but couldn’t you just tell him what you told me?”

“He wasn’t in the mood to hear it,” Stacker replied.

“And what does letting him vent solve?” Herc asked. “Because from where I’m standing, it didn’t do anyone any good.”

“Herc, I need his obedience more than I need his cooperation.”

“You are not seriously considering grounding him and putting Raleigh in his place.”

“If that’s what I have to do,” Stacker began.

A muted cheer came from outside and Herc frowned. _Why would there be cheering?_ Shaking his head, he focused on Stacker. “Let me just state for the record that would be a bad idea.”

“Noted, but you need to control your son, Herc. This run against the Breach isn’t his alone.”

“Not disagreeing, but you saw what Mako and Raleigh were able to do. They didn’t blow up the ‘dome. They pulled it back, by themselves. Shouldn’t that count for something, the way it did when we did it?”

“Doesn’t make this any easier, Herc. I’d like to think I’m hedging my bets here.”

“Too much if you ask me.”

Suddenly, a loud thud sounded and one of the squares on the computer screen started flashing red. 

“Why would we suddenly have a hot water pipe break?” Stacker wondered, but Herc was already at the door and stepping out into the hallway.

Raleigh had Chuck pinned to the floor and then twisted his left arm. “Aah!” Chuck cried out in pain.

“Hey! Hey! Enough!” Herc shouted. “What’s going on?” He stepped into the hallway and got no response. “On your feet, both of you!” he demanded in his best drill sergeant’s voice. Stacker followed Herc out of the office.

Raleigh and Chuck scrambled to their feet, careful to make sure they stepped apart from each other as they did. Chuck clutched his shoulder underneath his jacket and his left cheek had been cut open. He stared at Raleigh with hate in his eyes. Herc moved to his son.

“Becket, Mori, into my office now,” Stacker ordered.

Chuck moved forward as he said, “No, this isn’t finished!”

Herc stepped in and stopped Chuck from going forward. “Hey! Hey! This is over!” Chuck struggled against Herc’s hold. “You’re a Ranger, for chrissake. Why don’t you start acting like one?”

Chuck pulled himself free of Herc’s hold and stared at his father. He wasn’t willing to take a shot against Herc, but he wasn’t willing to back down either. For a long, tense moment, Herc wondered if he’d pushed Chuck too far, but then Chuck turned and walked slowly down the hallway until he’d broken through the perimeter of onlookers and disappeared back in the direction of the jaeger hangar. 

Herc gave himself fifteen minutes to calm down and think about what he had to say, but Chuck had long ago learned the art of hiding in a Shatterdome, and Herc didn’t have the patience to hunt him down.


	13. Chapter 13

Chuck showed up at dinner, looking like he'd had the cut on his face tended. "How's your shoulder?" Herc asked.

"Sore," Chuck said shortly. "Dr. Chandel thinks I've bruised it, but she put this patch on it and it doesn't hurt as much." Grudgingly, he added, "Wasn't expecting him to fight like Mako after one Drift."

"They were talking in the Drift," Herc reminded his son.

Chuck blew out a breath. "She still deserves better than a has-been."

_Aha,_ Herc thought. _Now we get to the reason Chuck's pissed._ "You know Stacker and I discussed what we'd do if you and Mako wound up being pilots together, back when you were both fourteen and pushing so hard to learn all you could about jaegers."

"We'd kill each other, trying to figure out who's in the left harness," Chuck said immediately as he fed Max table scraps. Rubbing the bulldog's head, Chuck wiped his hands on a napkin before picking up a fork. "Never thought she'd get her shot in a jaeger, not even after Pentecost let her go to the Academy. She's too good of an engineer."

Herc shook his head. "No reason she can't be both. Protecting her isn't going to help us. We need all of the jaegers if we're going to succeed, and I don't think we'll find anyone near their compatibility. Did you really think you could stop her from connecting with someone else?"

Chuck took a bite of his mashed potatoes and stir-fried pork before speaking again. "Wasn't that. She's so private. Never thought I'd see her open up like that. Got used to thinking I was the only one she'd do that with. It's...weird. But...Raleigh was right. I owe her an apology."

"Not him?" Herc asked.

"He started it," Chuck said defensively. "Don't understand why you're so much on his side."

"Because if you and I hadn't been able to Drift, I'd be in Command and not in a jaeger," Herc reminded him. "Or has it been that long that you've forgotten?"

Chuck looked startled. "But when I was sick, they put you in Lucky with that loser. You wouldn't have lost a jaeger."

"Maybe not," Herc agreed. "But that wasn't the initial deal they gave me."

Chuck studied his father a moment. "You really think it's Raleigh and Mako or no one."

"The old jaegers...I'm not superstitious, but they feel like whoever piloted them first. Can't convince me otherwise." Herc ate a bite of his dinner. "And I'd rather put those two in Gipsy than any of those piss-poor excuses of cadets we saw yesterday."

Chuck grinned then. "So much for the last jaeger Academy class, eh? They wouldn't last a minute against Mutavore."

"If we get through this," Herc said, "you and I should show them how it's done."

"Been a while since you and I did kwoon together," Chuck noted. "Maybe tomorrow, we should set that up."

Herc nodded agreement. "Long as your shoulder's okay," he told Chuck. "No sense in pushing it unless we have to." He paused before adding, "One more thing, Chuck. Cut back on the attitude. Pull that shit again like you did this morning and the marshal _will_ ground you. You know I don't like Drifting with anyone else now."

Chuck scowled at that, but he met his father's gaze. "Yes, sir," he said unhappily. "You gonna spar with Richie tonight?"

Herc shook his head. "He said he was going to get some sleep since he's been on shift since 0500." He paused. "Thought you didn't want to talk about that stuff anymore."

Chuck shrugged restlessly, wincing as his sore shoulder gave him trouble. "Been a few years since you've fought anyone," Chuck pointed out. "For a while there, it felt like it was happening all the time and I hated seeing it in the Drift. Don't want you getting rusty in case some idiot tries something. I walked around earlier; we don't have the security we used to, so it's no surprise Newt was able to get that equipment."

"They'd have to be in the 'dome first, and between Grace and Richie and myself, I think we'd figure out pretty quick if another of us was here. They're more likely to go after Richie; he has a bigger reputation and connections." He paused, seeing his son's worry. "Nothing's happened to me in any Shatterdome and I see no reason for it to start now. I'm always armed; you know that."

With a rueful sigh, Chuck accepted that. In silence, the Hansens finished their dinner.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried writing around this scene and realized it's too important to toss off with just a paragraph. I threw my hands up and decided to run with it instead. :-)

The kaiju alarm sounded at 2300 that night, waking the Hansens up; they'd managed two hours of sleep. Hastily, they dressed and ran to the drive suit room, leaving Max behind in their quarters. The Kaidonovskys and the Wei Tangs were also being suited up at the same time. 

"Where's Becket and Mori?" Sasha Kaidonovsky asked Herc in Russian. She'd found out that he could speak the language during one of their joint missions and preferred to converse in her native language.

"Not sure," Herc replied in the same language, hoping that Stacker had changed his mind about holding Gispy in reserve.

Once suited, the pilots all then headed over to LOCCENT for their briefing. Herc took the spot to Stacker’s right, while Chuck stood to Herc’s right. Sasha Kaidonovsky towered over his wife and copilot, Aleksis, and was easily the tallest man in the room. The Wei Tangs stood off to Aleksis’ right, leaving a hole that Mako and Raleigh, who weren’t suited up, filled.

Tendo stood to Stacker’s left and was flanked by Hermann Gottlieb, who looked equal parts happy and horrified that his prediction had come true. Herc spared a moment to wonder if Newt had managed to get into a shelter or had come back from his visit with the kaiju parts dealer. Besides the jaeger pilots, the room was full of LOCCENT techs, representatives from the various jaeger crews, one of the jumphawk leads, and the PPDC’s sole remaining public relations person.

“The Breach was exposed at 2300 hours. We have two signatures, both Category 4s. Code names: Otachi and Leatherback,” Tendo informed them. “They’ll reach Hong Kong within the hour.”

“Evacuate the city. Shut down the bridges. I want every single civilian in a refuge right now,” Stacker ordered, and the PR person scrambled to get the message out. “Crimson Typhoon, Cherno Alpha, I want you to frontline the harbor. Stay on the Miracle Mile. Striker, I want you to stay back. Look after the coastline. We cannot afford to lose you so only engage as a final option.” 

“Yes, sir,” the Hansens said crisply.

Turning to Mako and Raleigh, Stacker said, “You two. You stay put.”

Raleigh, who stood with his arms crossed, nodded. He looked as if he’d expected that order. Mako looked away rather than show her disappointment. 

Stacker clapped his hands. “Let’s go!”

Chuck and Herc moved quickly towards their jaeger and moved themselves into it.

“I don’t like this,” Chuck groused as they initiated the neural handshake. “Two Category 4 kaiju at once, bigger than Mutavore? Cherno should be staying back, not us."

Herc sighed. “I know, but you heard the marshal. We need to be able to drop the bomb.”

Chuck’s frustration seeped through their Drift, but Herc ignored it. “LOCCENT, this is Striker Eureka. Are we walking or are we dropping?”

“You are walking. Cherno and Crimson are dropping,” Tendo informed them. “It’s still pouring buckets out there, so be careful.” 

“Understood,” Herc said, and muted the channel. “Remember, Hong Kong has a shorter drop than Sydney,” he reminded Chuck, referring to the distance from the edge of the hangar bay to the seabed. “Ready to take a walk in the rain?”

“Ready,” Chuck said, and they strode out to Victoria Harbor. The older model jaegers weren’t fast enough to traverse the standard intercept distance, so they had to be transported.

“LOCCENT, Striker’s got the ball and we’re on the roll,” Chuck announced as they met the other jaegers being transported near the Miracle Mile.

“LOCCENT, near positions and awaiting your orders,” Herc announced as they slowed to stop.

“Remain in the Miracle Mile and engage at your discretion,” Stacker ordered. “Guys, keep your eyes open. These are the biggest Category 4s we’ve ever seen both in size and weight.” 

“Cherno Alpha reaching target zone. Disengaging transport,” Aleksis Kaidonovsky announced, her English Russian-accented.

Hearing that announcement, the Hansens braced for the wave impact when Cherno plunged into the water. 

“Crimson Typhoon reaching target zone and disengaging transport,” Cheung Wei Tang announced a few seconds later, his English sounding vaguely British, and it made Herc remember that the Wei Tangs were local to Hong Kong.

Striker again braced for the displacement. Herc could feel the silent cheer from his son – a cheer Chuck would be loath to admit to aloud, but he, too, felt better that the other two jaegers were in the water.

“Cherno Alpha in position, Miracle Mile,” Aleksis said. 

“Crimson Typhoon in position, Miracle Mile,” Cheung said.

“Cherno Alpha holding the coastline. Beacon is on.” 

Cherno and Crimson started moving forward, searching the water for the kaiju. The jumphawks provided additional searchlights and spotters as they continued to fly over the area.

Herc heard one of the Wei triplets mutter something in Chinese and wished, for a moment, that he’d bothered to find the time to learn more than just Russian and French.

The kaiju roar was nearly deafening. On their view screens, the Hansens could see the kaiju, code named Otachi, emerge from the water on Crimson’s three o’clock, then crouch down to slam its tail against Crimson’s midsection. Crimson was thrown from its position, but managed to stand and form its famous Thundercloud formation, which was drawn from the triplets’ knowledge of martial arts. 

Otachi evaded nearly every blow, but a few did land. Standing there watching it happen, Herc could feel his son twitching with the urge to move forward, to defend. Crimson managed to throw the kaiju some distance away.

Cherno moved in for the kill, slamming its left hand down on Otachi’s head, then coming in for three more blows with its right while holding down Otachi’s head. For a moment, it looked like victory was at hand. Then Cherno was slammed backwards.

“What the hell?” Chuck asked, shocked. 

“Tail got ‘em, I think.” Herc hit the switch to communicate with LOCCENT. “LOCCENT, Cherno and Crimson are in trouble. We’re moving in.” 

“You are to hold your ground. Do not engage,” Stacker ordered urgently. “We need you to carry that bomb.”

Herc exchanged a look with his son, aware that they didn’t agree.

“Do you copy?” Stacker demanded.

Herc didn’t immediately reply. On Striker's screens, he and Chuck could see that Crimson was struggling.

“Jesus, we can’t just sit here and watch ‘em die. Come on!” Chuck exclaimed.

“Ah, screw this. LOCCENT, we’re moving in, now!” Herc said, and not waiting for orders otherwise, went to aid their fellow jaegers.

They could hear Crimson’s pilots screaming and the sound of metal tearing, as the kaiju took them out.

“Typhoon is gone,” Sasha Kaidonovsky said in Russian.

“Let’s get this bastard,” Aleksis replied, also in Russian. They slammed Cherno’s fists together in a taunting gesture and marched forward to engage.

Then Otachi spat a stream of liquid at them.

“Cherno Alpha, we’ve been hit with some type of acid,” Sasha said in English.

“Come on!” Herc roared, and he and Chuck started running.

“Hull has been compromised. We need backup immediately!” Sasha continued to report.

“Just hold on, Cherno, we’re on our way!” Herc yelled into the comm.

The Hansens could hear the sound of metal failing, see the monitor on their screen that told them that Cherno was seconds away from disaster, and knew they had to run faster. Halfway there, the second kaiju, Leatherback, roared out of the water, leaping onto Cherno’s head, and bashed it in.

“Water is reaching the reactor!!!” Sasha cried out in Russian.

As much as Herc and Chuck wanted to somehow save Cherno, they had other worries. Freed from having to focus on Cherno, Otachi rose to meet Striker. Grabbing its head, Herc and Chuck started pounding on it, heating the jaeger's sting blades to cause more damage.

“Our power move, yeah!” Chuck yelled.

Hoping to knock the kaiju senseless through gravity alone, they picked up the kaiju and tossed it away.

They heard the triumphant roar of Leatherback, then the dull underwater boom of Cherno exploding. “Damn it,” Herc swore. 

Otachi rose up again, and the Hansens beat it down again, repeatedly. Worry crept through Herc as he realized this kaiju wasn't weakening as fast as the previous kaiju they'd fought. 

_Kill it with the missiles,_ Chuck thought at Herc in the Drift.

They lifted the kaiju up above Striker’s head and tossed it away again, needing some distance before firing Striker’s missiles.

“Engaging air missiles!” Herc said and, with a yell, drew his shoulders back as Chuck did the same. Herc felt the wince of pain from Chuck as his shoulder reminded him it was sore, but ignored it in favor of triggering the missiles.

The kaiju roared. Suddenly, every system in Striker was on overload. Herc felt like he’d taken a Quickening from a lightning storm and screamed. Beside him, Chuck was also screaming from the electrical surge. Then all of Striker’s systems went dark.

Groaning, Herc pulled his helmet off as Chuck did the same.

“What the hell was that?” Chuck demanded.

“LOCCENT!” Herc tried connecting; the switch wasn’t responding. “LOCCENT!” he said again, and knew that whatever that electrical surge was, it had taken out everything, including their communication link with LOCCENT.

“Never seen that before,” Chuck noted. “What are we going to do now? We’re sitting ducks here.”

Herc considered. He could hear at least one kaiju roar in triumph and guessed it was heading straight for the city. They didn’t stand a chance. From the sounds of things, one kaiju was still circling them.

He felt achy, unbalanced, and it didn’t feel like his immortal healing was kicking in at all. Needing to do something, he tried activating the emergency power. “There’s no emergency power,” he told Chuck. 

“We gotta bail,” Chuck said. “The escape pods are tied to emergency power, so they’re not working.”

“I’m going to try something else,” Herc said, and depressed the button to disengage his harness. 

“No, don’t disengage!” Chuck shouted, just in time for the kaiju to smash against Chuck’s side of the jaeger, sending Herc flying.

“Ahh, my arm!” Herc cried out, grabbing it. _Why am I not healing? Did that electrical surge reset me or something?_ he thought. 

Chuck disengaged his harness and ran to Herc’s side. “Hey, come on!” He quickly crouched down and grabbed Herc around the waist. “Get on your feet, old man!”

“Don’t call me that!” Herc snapped as he grudgingly accepted Chuck’s help. Blood streamed down a cut on Herc’s forehead, and Herc realized that whatever that electrical surge was, it was strong enough to fry his body’s ability to heal. Normally, he’d have healed from everything by now.

The kaiju’s grunts echoed through Striker’s hull.

“He’s right outside. We gotta get out of here now!” Chuck shouted.

“We’re not goin’ anywhere!” Herc shouted back as he started towards the storage compartments. “Now you and I are the only thing standing between that ugly bastard and a city of 2 million people.” He popped open the compartments, revealing three flare guns. Stepping closer to Chuck, who looked confused in the shadowed light, “Now we can either sit here and wait or,” Herc gestured with his left hand, “we can take these flare guns and do something really stupid.”

Chuck looked at Herc, then at the flare guns, then back at Herc. “You’re not healing,” he said. 

“I know,” Herc said. “Think that surge did something to me. Hopefully I’ll be back to normal soon."

"What about your sword?" Chuck pointed vaguely at the bag that hung from the hooks he'd installed inside the conn-pod. 

"You seriously want me to try to use my sword to chop off a kaiju's head? We'll both be eaten before I get a swing in, and I’m not interested in finding out if I can survive that."

Chuck swallowed hard and nodded acceptance of Herc's argument.

"We gonna do this?”

In reply, Chuck grabbed two of the flare guns and popped the access hatch on Striker’s head. He climbed out first and took a position on one side of the hatch as Herc climbed out. 

“How’s your arm?” Chuck asked, clearly hoping for ‘it’s healed.’

“Ah, just give me the gun,” Herc said crossly. He’d forgotten what it was like to be in pain for longer than thirty seconds and he was finding he hadn’t missed it.

The kaiju was massive, larger than Herc had expected. He swallowed the sudden surge of fear and yelled, “Hey you!”

The kaiju growled as it stared at them.

Herc used his left hand to fire at the kaiju’s nearest eye as Chuck used his right. Herc’s shot hit first, then Chuck’s.

The kaiju screamed in pain, shaking its head and trying to curl away.

“I think we just pissed it off,” Chuck observed. 

The kaiju raised its arms as if getting ready to smash down on them, only to be silhouetted by a sudden bright light. Both men winced and started to cover their eyes as the kaiju screamed again. 

The sound of the kaiju was quickly drowned out by the sound of helicopter blades whirring. Hearing them, the kaiju turned to face this new threat.

Through the bright light, Herc could barely make out the outline of a jaeger. _Son of a gun,_ Herc thought. _Gipsy’s here_.

Gipsy Danger plunged into the water, rocking Striker slightly, and quickly proceeded to engage the kaiju.

“Yeah!” Herc cheered.

Gipsy managed to get around the kaiju and ripped off the thing on the kaiju’s back that Herc suspected had been the source of the electrical surge.

“Come on, Gipsy, kick his ass!” Chuck yelled.

Gipsy wrestled with the kaiju some more before being hurled towards the city. The kaiju then quickly followed it.

“That’s going to hurt,” Chuck said with a wince as he watched Gipsy fly through the air.

"I think they'll be fine," Herc said with more hope than knowledge. "Can you grab my bag? I think I hear a jumphawk coming for us."

Chuck nodded and climbed back down, taking the flare guns with him. He emerged again, bag in hand, just as a jumphawk spotlighted them.

“Striker Eureka, this is Jumphawk 12, you guys need a ride home?” someone called from a loudspeaker as the jumphawk in question moved to hover over them.

“Better than standing out here in the rain,” Herc shouted.

A ladder was tossed down, and with some difficulty, Herc climbed it. He still wasn’t healed, and made a note to ask Grace or Richie why. Chuck climbed in after him, his shoulder clearly giving him fits, and then they were on their way back to the ‘dome. 


	15. Chapter 15

“Any survivors from Cherno or Crimson?” Herc asked one of the jumphawk crew, dreading the worst.

“LOCCENT says maybe, but the EMP knocked out everything, so we’re doing search and rescue like it's 1999,” one of the jumphawk crew said. “Jumphawks 1 and 3 are looking, and the others are providing support for Gipsy Danger.” 

“Understood,” Herc said.

They were almost back to base when the crew notified them that power had also been restored to the Shatterdome and that Gipsy was back on her feet and had reported taking out Leatherback. They were on the hunt for Otachi now. Relieved to hear their progress, Herc and Chuck shared a look.

Dr. Grace Chandel met them at the helipad and hustled Herc and Chuck back to a triage room.

“How’s the shoulder, Chuck?” she asked.

“Hurts,” he admitted. 

“Maria, get Chuck an ice pack,” Dr. Chandel directed her medical assistant. “Sit down and we'll get that shoulder armor off. Any other injuries, kaiju blue exposure?” 

“No, ma’am, just the shoulder. My dad’s worse off than me,” Chuck said.

“I see that.” Maria returned with the ice pack and a power screwdriver and, with more efficiency than Chuck expected from a medical assistant, undid the screws that held the shoulder armor.

“You’ll want help getting out of the rest of this,” Maria said. “I left the spine insert intact, so if the drive suit techs yell at you, tell them to come talk to me.” She smiled easily and slid a piece of cloth between the frozen gel pack and the circuitry suit layer. The cloth would protect the circuitry suit from freezing while not interfering with the cold pack.

Chuck sighed as the cold started to seep through the specially designed leak-proof pack. 

Dr. Chandel then turned her focus to Herc. “Where’s it hurt?”

“Broke my right arm and knocked my head,” Herc told her. "Kaiju hit Striker and I wasn't in my harness, so I was thrown to the side." 

“He’s usually really good at healing,” Chuck said worriedly.

“The two of you were hit by an EMP strong enough to knock out power to half of Hong Kong and the Shatterdome. Granted, you were grounded in your harnesses, but you still felt that shock because of your instruments. EMPs usually don’t mess up your body.”

“Yeah, but how come I’m okay and he’s not?” Chuck demanded.

Grace looked at Herc. “It’s hard to hide secrets in the Drift,” Herc said quietly. “He knows about immortals.”

“In that case,” Grace said briskly, “I’ll give you my theory. Most immortals will experience a temporary inability to heal if they’re hit by lightning. Given that no one knows how the magic that makes an immortal different works, let alone how we heal, I suspect you’ve been hit with more than your body can normally process. In other words, you’re still immortal, Herc. It’s just going to be a little more like a normal healing until your body figures out how to fix everything.”

“How do you know?” Chuck demanded.

“Because I’m one,” Grace said. “And I’ve been a doctor for centuries, and most immortals know to come to me if they need one.” Turning to Herc, she said, “I need an X-ray of that arm and shoulder. Maria, please page a drive suit tech to come up here so they don't bitch at us for frying a circuitry suit.”

Maria nodded and tapped the computer screen that was on a portable stand.

“Drive suit tech, please come to Medical ASAP. Drive suit tech, please come to Medical,” the ‘dome’s AI paged a moment later.

“What happens if I heal before they arrive?” Herc wondered.

“Then we blame it on Chuck, if that’s okay with both of you,” Grace said.

“Fine by me,” Chuck said. He nodded to Maria. “You don’t seem surprised by this.”

She smiled and turned over her right wrist, revealing the distinctive trefoil-in-a-dotted-circle of a Watcher. “Why would I be?” she said easily.

Chuck’s eyes widened; he knew what that tattoo meant. “I see.” Then he paused. “Gorgeous purple color on that tat.”

Maria grinned. “When did you get yours?” she asked, noting the Striker Eureka logo Chuck had on his right arm.

“Eighteenth birthday present.”

Herc smiled at the conversation, but he hurt. Turning to Grace, he asked, “Can’t I have something for the pain?”

“After we take some x-rays and an MRI,” the doctor said firmly. “If this is anything like being hit by lightning, it’ll be a few days at least. Only immortal I know who can take in lightning and not get hurt is Connor MacLeod, but he’s also the only one I know who can’t drown. Not that he doesn’t keep trying to find out who else can.” 

Herc barked out a laugh. “That explains why Richie kept telling him ‘no, we are not going anywhere near any bodies of water today’ when we visited him.”

“Richie, hmm,” Grace said thoughtfully. “Was wondering who was your teacher.” 

Herc nodded, but further conversation was halted by the arrival of the drive suit tech, who brought with him a portable drill designed for the removal of a drive suit, and a cart to haul the pieces away. He offered to take Chuck's suit since he was there, but Chuck refused, saying he'd go by the drive suit room later.

After the x-ray and MRI, Grace diagnosed Herc with a broken forearm, which she put in a plain white cast, then gave him a sling to go with it. "Come by this afternoon and we'll check on this, see how you're healing. No going into a jaeger, either, until then. I'll give you some painkillers if you want; otherwise, just take some ibuprofen. Chuck, keep that shoulder iced and take some ibuprofen; we'll check on you this afternoon as well. Neither of you are cleared for battle, understood?"

"But we have to drop the bomb –" Chuck started.

"The only way you'll heal any faster, Chuck, is if you were immortal. If your father wanted to find someone and take his head, that Quickening would go a long way to healing him, too, but I wouldn't recommend either," Grace said ruthlessly. "Now, with any luck, the kaiju will hold off attacking us and you can both heal naturally." She rose to her feet, opened a cabinet, and pulled out two small packages, which she handed to Herc.

"Thank you, Dr. Chandel," Herc said. "Come on, let's go see if Gipsy's back and if Cherno and Crimson were able to use their escape pods."

The news in LOCCENT wasn't good. The Kaidonovskys were dead; Cherno's remains were in bits in the harbor. Out of the Wei Tang triplets, only one of the escape pods had been located, and life signs weren't promising, but the rescue chopper was on its way back with the survivor. The only consolation was that Gipsy had taken out Leatherback and was still fighting Otachi.

"The bastard's got wings!" Raleigh's voice came through loud and clear in LOCCENT. "It's got us! Mako, we're out of options!"

"Altitude coming up on ten thousand feet," Tendo noted, worry in his voice.

"No!" Mako said fiercely.

On the screen that monitored a jaeger's weapons status, Herc saw that Mako had added something that wasn't on the original specs. "Chain sword," he said in awe.

"What?" Chuck said, leaning over. "Damn. She did it. She said she was going to do it if she ever got her hands on a jaeger."

"For my family," Mako said in Japanese.

A moment later, the kaiju's life signs blinked out on the corresponding monitor in LOCCENT. "Beautiful," Tendo said with awe.

"Scramble the hawks! All crews to the roof!" Stacker ordered. "Someone find me a pair of binoculars and a walkie-talkie!"

Herc and Chuck joined the crowd on the roof, following Stacker and Tendo outside. It was still raining, but the roof was lit, since it had been designed as an observation platform, complete with spotlights. Over the mutterings of the crowd and the sound of the jumphawks launching, they could hear Stacker and Tendo communicating with Raleigh and Mako.

"We're still falling - we can't slow down!" Raleigh shouted.

"Gipsy, listen to me. I've done this before," Stacker said. Abruptly Herc remembered that his friend was a former British paratrooper and had tested Coyote Tango’s jumping ability.

"Loosen every shock absorber. Use the gyroscope to balance and ball up. I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt."

"Yes, sir," Raleigh said.

Everyone held their breaths. With a thud that was audible all the way to the 'dome, Gipsy landed. Stacker and Tendo rushed back inside, the crowd following.

"I need eyes on Gipsy," Stacker said as Tendo scrambled to get a live feed on Gipsy. "Hawks, any sign?" 

"Dust cloud from the stadium's obscuring everything," one of the jumphawk pilots reported.

"Gipsy Danger, report. Mr. Becket! Miss Mori!" Stacker ordered, leaning into the microphone. Herc could see the worry Stacker didn't quite hide in the way his hands curled around the back of Tendo's chair.

Silence met Stacker's words. Raleigh and Mako wouldn't be the first jaeger team to defeat the kaiju, only to die minutes later from their injuries, Herc thought, and prayed they hadn't suffered that fate. 

"Use your rotors to clear an area!" Stacker ordered the jumphawk pilots.

Long, agonizing minutes passed. "Gipsy's down," the jumphawk pilot reported. "She made a crater in the stadium, but we've no movement."

The live feed snapped on at that moment, and in the screens, Herc could see the cloud of dust surrounding the stadium. 

"Come on, Gipsy," Chuck said intently, as if willing the jaeger to stand.

"Come in closer," Stacker ordered the jumphawks. "Beat some of that dust away."

The dust cleared. For a moment, no movement was visible. Then Gipsy stood, coming to her feet.

Cheers and applause erupted in the 'dome and even the notoriously taciturn jumphawk pilots whooped and cheered as they peeled away and Gipsy's operating lights came on. The conn-pod monitor in LOCCENT came to life, showing that both Raleigh and Mako were bruised but alive. 

"Report," Stacker ordered.

"You okay?" Raleigh was heard to ask Mako.

"That...felt...good," she said.

"We're going to need a ride back, sir," Raleigh said. "We had to vent fuel to slow down our rate of descent."

"Jumphawk 2 coming in, Gipsy," one of the pilots said. "We'll drop the ladder down for you."

Stacker closed his eyes briefly before turning to the stationwide intercom. "I want the two remaining jaegers to one hundred percent functionality within eight hours," he ordered. "Sooner is preferable."

Herc looked at his son, who nodded. Together, they headed down to greet the returning heroes.


	16. Chapter 16

In the jaeger hangar, a short distance away from where the war clock hung, Herc and Chuck moved through the crowd surrounding Gipsy Danger’s pilots, though Chuck hung back a bit.

“Raleigh!” Herc called, slipping past one of the jaeger techs to greet Raleigh and Mako and shake Mako’s hand. Both were beaming with pride at their accomplishment.

Herc glanced back to see where his son was before turning to Raleigh and Mako. “My kid’d never admit it, but he’s grateful. We both are.” He held out his hand for Raleigh to clasp, which Raleigh did with a smile.

Herc turned in time to see Chuck nod his thanks at Raleigh, and Herc knew that whatever animosity his son had held towards Raleigh was gone. Raleigh had proven he wasn’t a has-been; he’d succeeded where others had failed.

From behind the crowd standing behind Raleigh and Mako, Stacker stepped forward; the crowd automatically parted to make way for him.

“Mr. Becket! Miss Mori!”

Raleigh and Mako snapped to attention as Herc found himself doing the same.

For a long moment, Stacker looked at Raleigh and Mako each in turn. Then, loud enough for the entire room to hear, he declared, “In all my years of fighting, I’ve _never_ seen anything quite like that.” Stacker’s mouth widened into a grin. “Well done.” More quietly, he added, “Proud of you.”

Herc saw Mako duck her head slightly at Stacker’s praise.

Stacker raised his voice again. “Proud of us all. But as harsh as it sounds, there is no time to celebrate,” he said as he started moving forward; Mako and Raleigh fell in behind him. Stacker stopped in front of Herc, forming a T with him. “We lost four pilots today. No time to grieve.” His voice grew hoarse as he ordered, “Reset that clock!” He turned to face Mako and Raleigh as the crowd murmured indecipherably.

Much to Herc’s dismay, he saw the blood dripping from his friend’s nose at the same time Mako did. She gasped and raised her right hand to her nose. Stacker saw her movement, looked down, touched his finger to his nose. He looked at his finger and grabbed his handkerchief.

“Reset the clock,” Stacker ordered again, and started walking away, in between Mako and Raleigh.

Herc could hear the crowd murmuring; those closest to where Stacker had been standing had seen the movement. Herc knew he had to assert his authority before things got out of hand. “You heard the marshal!” Herc shouted. “Get to work!”

The crowd dispersed at his words. Stepping forward, he met Raleigh and Mako. “Best get yourselves over to Medical and checked out, then food and sleep,” he advised them. “We’ll be headed for the Breach as soon as the jaegers are ready, if everything goes according to plan.”

Mako acknowledged his words with a nod and a short bow, which Herc returned.

“What happened to your arm?” Raleigh asked as Mako slipped away.

“Broke it when Leatherback slammed into the conn-pod,” Herc told him.

“That means Striker’s out of a pilot,” Raleigh noted.

Herc half-smiled. “Don’t you worry about that. Now get yourself out of that drive suit and over to Dr. Chandel so I can tell the marshal he can worry about other things.”

“Yes, sir, I mean, Herc.”

Herc waited until Raleigh started towards the drive suit room before heading towards where Striker was being worked on, figuring his son would be there.

Chuck stood, looking unhappy, as Striker’s jaeger crew worked on the jaeger. At Herc’s approach, he turned to look. “Meitetsu told me hands off. Apparently, Dr. Chandel gave him the heads’ up on my shoulder.”

Herc bit back a smile; nothing soothed Chuck more than tinkering with Striker. “One of us has to be in shape to pilot Striker, yeah? Now come on, let’s get you out of that drive suit and then we can catch some sleep. Gonna be a long day tomorrow. Max is probably wondering where we are and going stir crazy.”

Reluctantly, Chuck let himself be led away.


	17. Chapter 17

It was mid-afternoon when Herc and Chuck woke. After a quick meal in the mess hall, they headed over to Medical.

“I’m going to clear you, Chuck,” Grace said, “but I want you to be careful. I’d feel a lot better if we had another day to make sure you don’t rip those muscles, so as a precaution, I want you to keep wearing these patches.” As she spoke, she applied the therapeutic patch to his shoulder. “You’ll need to change these out every five hours and I’ll give you a supply. Stop using them if you feel better or if you’re wearing a circuitry suit.”

Herc’s arm, though not as broken as it had been, was still in no condition to use. “At the rate you’re going, Herc,” Grace said, “you’ll be healed in forty-eight hours.”

Herc grimaced. He had a feeling they didn’t have that kind of time. “You don’t have anything to speed it up, other what you mentioned yesterday?

Grace shook her head. “If you weren’t immortal, Herc, and if we had the time, we’d be talking about the latest in fracture healing techniques, but since you are, we can’t mess with that. Like I told you yesterday, you’re healing slow.”

Herc suppressed a sigh of disappointment. “Thanks, Dr. Chandel.”

Chuck looked disappointed too, but he took the patches Dr. Chandel handed him and walked out of Medical with Herc.

“What are we going to do?” Chuck asked worriedly.

“ _We_ are going to do nothing at the moment,” Herc told him. “ _You_ are going to take it easy and I’m going to go talk to Stacker. From what I read in my email a few minutes ago, the surviving Wei Tang triplet’s going to have a long road to recovery.

“So no Crimson Typhoon on this bomb run either.”

“Triple PONS interface, as you well know, and it was designed specifically for the Wei Tangs. It’s not like any other jaeger.”

“And all the control consoles are in Chinese, from the peek of it I saw,” Chuck added. “Damn it.” He paused. “I don’t know if you saw this or not, but Lucky Seven’s here.”

“Where?” Herc asked, startled.

“In three pieces in the storage on Level 19,” Chuck said. “Still has the sideswipe on the right side that took Uncle Scott out.”

“So that’s where you disappeared off to,” Herc said, looking at his son.

Chuck shrugged. “Wanted to figure out what parts of this ‘dome were closed off. You know I’ve always wandered through every ‘dome the PPDC ever had.”

Herc nodded, his mind racing. “Given what you saw of the cadets the other day, do you think it would be worth it to try and put them in a jaeger, if we could put it back together in time?”

“Maybe,” Chuck allowed. “But, Dad, you’re talking about four days, at least – two just to weld that jaeger back together, not to mention the time to reload it and get the new pilots up to speed. Didn’t Lucky need that size ammo round we don’t use anymore?”

“Yeah, but the fact that it’s here and not in Oblivion Bay where it’s supposed to go tells me that Stacker might consider using it,” Herc countered. “And this is where all of the spare parts he could get his hands on wound up.” He paused. “I think I just figured out Stacker’s Plan B.”

Chuck’s eyes widened. “Enough jaeger parts to build jaegers quickly and untried pilots to pilot them? Isn’t that suicide?”

Herc nodded grimly. “Unless they rise to the occasion.”

Chuck whistled softly. “That’s why we haven’t told the cadets to go home yet.”

“Probably,” Herc said. “Now, given that we’re just speculating, don’t go poking around looking for confirmation, understood?”

“I’m not an idiot, old man,” Chuck said irritably. “I’m more concerned about you. If the kaiju attack before your arm’s healed, who’ll pilot with me? Because if it’s one of those untried cadets, I don’t know if I can do what you do and hide shit in the Drift.”

“Then don’t,” Herc said, surprising his son. “Whoever you Drift with should know and we’ll deal with explanations later.”

“If you think that’s best,” Chuck began uncertainly.

“I never did care much for lying,” Herc told him. “Now go walk Max, and I’ll go talk to Stacker.”

Herc never made it there. The kaiju alarm sounded.

“It’s only been eight hours,” Chuck said, shocked.

“Analyze the timing later. Go,” Herc told Chuck, “get suited up. I’ll meet you in the hangar.”

Chuck walked quickly, tugging on Max’s leash as he did so.


	18. Chapter 18

“Stacker, as plans go, this is a shitty one,” Herc said as he watched Stacker pull out his Coyote Tango drive suit of the locker in his quarters. “You’ll kill yourself.”

“I’m dying anyway,” Stacker pointed out. “Dr. Chandel says the leukemia’s back.” 

Herc sighed. “Just for once, Stacks, I’d like for you to not live by your own words about dying. What about living?”

Stacker laughed dryly. “If I did that, you and I would not be here today. You know as well as I do the stresses on your arm will shatter it irrevocably, and we don’t have the luxury of time to try to find who among the cadets can Drift with your son.”

Herc pressed his lips into a thin line. A part of him – the part that had found a friend in Stacker, someone to share thoughts about parenting in a time of war, someone who understood what it meant to be ex-Air Force (even if they’d been with different countries’ forces), and a jaeger pilot from the beginning of the PPDC – wanted very much to protest the issue further. He stayed silent, though, aware that he was having issues with his ability to heal, and that Stacker was right.

Stacker looked at him, seeing his silence as acknowledgement and acceptance. He nodded once. “Help me carry this to the drive suit room?”

Herc grumbled wordlessly but did as he was requested. He knew they had a little bit of time since the two kaiju appeared to be hovering over the Breach, protecting it, but that could change at any minute.

“Chuck’s not going to like this.”

Stacker chuckled softly. “I remember when I first met him,” he reminded Herc. “You were stationed here in Hong Kong. He was all about the jaegers then.”

“Still is.” 

“If you’re worried about me Drifting with him –” Stacker began.

“Only that there’s something I should’ve told you a long time ago about me.”

“If it’s about the sword and why you carry it,” Stacker said, “then the explanation that ‘it’s magic’ you’ve given me all these years suffices. I just don’t believe much in magic or miracles.”

Herc decided, in the interest of time, to leave it at that. If Stacker saw the truth in Chuck’s head, then they’d deal with it after, as Herc had told Chuck they’d do. “Want me to carry your helmet or the crate of armor and your circuitry suit?”

“Helmet, since you only have one good arm,” Stacker said.

Herc stayed with Stacker while his drive suit was being screwed on and walked with him out to the jaeger hangar. He saw instantly that Chuck was talking with Tendo, Max at his feet, and had yet to change into his drive suit, while Raleigh and Mako were both suited up. The look on Chuck’s face when he saw Stacker to Herc’s left was priceless – and turned quickly from shock into a mix of fear and confusion.

Stacker strode confidently away and Mako followed him.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Chuck asked Herc. “Him?” 

“My arm’s not healed yet,” Herc said firmly as he saw Raleigh move towards where Mako and Stacker were talking, near the piece of Crimson Typhoon’s claw that had been salvaged, before stopping to give them some privacy. “And we don’t have time to try and find you someone else. He knows us, Chuck. If I can’t be there in Striker, I can’t think of anyone better to take my place.” 

“But Dad –” Chuck said, his arms lifting slightly as he tried to argue his point.

“Decision’s made, Chuck,” Herc said. “And as Marshal Pentecost’s second in command, I second it. When you go down there, I’ll be in command, not him.”

“This is not going to work,” Chuck argued. “How the hell am I supposed to Drift with him when we’ve never even fought in the kwoon?”

“You can do this, Chuck. You just hate opening up to other people, but I know you can do it. You’re my son.” Herc made his force firm, aware that Chuck needed him to be confident in order to believe. Herc nodded towards Stacker. “Now, he wants to say a few things before you four head out.”

“Everyone, listen up!” Stacker called out, and stepped onto the claw as a crowd gathered around him. “Today…today. At the edge of our hope, at the end of our time, we have chosen not only to believe in ourselves but each other. Today there’s not a man nor woman in here that shall stand alone. Not today. Today we face the monsters at our door and bring the fight to them! Today we are canceling the apocalypse!” he thundered.

Cheers and applause rose up from the crowd. Herc knew the motivational speech was necessary, but he couldn’t help but find it a little cheesy. Turning to his son, he said gruffly, “Come on, let’s get you suited up. Stacker will be waiting.”

“Still think this is a bad idea,” Chuck groused as he handed over Max’s leash.

Herc ignored him. Protocol dictated that only jaeger pilots being suited up could be in the drive suit room, which directly connected to the hallway that led to the conn-pod elevators. Herc, well aware of how long it would take Chuck to get suited up, walked the long way around to Striker’s conn-pod elevator as the ‘dome’s PA repeatedly said in Chinese and English, “All non-essential personnel to the safety zones now.”

In his heart, Herc knew this was a suicide run. Two Category 4s circling the Breach, not moving, hovering over it. It had to be a response from the kaiju, especially coming just hours after Newt had reported that Otachi had been pregnant with a kaiju that apparently had eaten Hannibal Chau, the kaiju parts dealer, before strangling on its own umbilical cord – if anyone made it back alive, Herc was going to be shocked. Somehow, knowing that Chuck would be immortal if he died in the process was a small comfort. It wouldn’t bring back Stacker, Herc’s best friend since the Mark-1 glory days, or save Raleigh or Mako. What good was being immortal if the kaiju weren’t stopped?

Herc arrived in the hallway just in time to see and hear Stacker telling Chuck, “You’re a simple puzzle I solved on day one. You’re an egotistical jerk with daddy issues.”

Anger surged through Herc as he heard those words, even as he knew them to be true. He forced it back, aware that Stacker could wind anyone up if he tried, and focused on the message Stacker was trying to convey – that he knew Chuck, knew who he was, and it didn’t matter. 

Max barked twice, recognizing Chuck, and tugged on the leash. Herc pulled the dog back as both Chuck and Stacker turned to see them. 

“But you are your father’s son,” Stacker continued. “So we’ll Drift just fine.” 

Chuck looked at Stacker, squared his shoulders, and said firmly, “Works for me.”

Stacker glanced once at Herc before heading into the conn-pod elevator, past the impassive guards who, Herc knew, had seen and heard all manner of sendoffs.

Chuck turned and headed to where Herc stood, holding Max’s leash. He looked nervous despite his words to Stacker. As Chuck’s only copilot ever, Herc knew his son had to be feeling the pressure; it wasn’t easy to switch off pilots, no matter what the PPDC had thought initially. As Chuck’s father, Herc knew he had to say something or he’d regret it later; he still regretted that the last words to his wife were about picking up Chuck from school, not ‘I love you.’ 

Swallowing hard past the emotion clogging his throat, Herc said huskily, “Hey now.”

Chuck half-smiled at the greeting, a dimple appearing on one cheek. For a moment, Herc stared at his son, remembering the baby he’d once been. Chuck looked away briefly, feeling the surge of emotion from the low-level Ghost Drift they’d developed from over five years of piloting together.

“When you Drift with someone,” Herc said, unable to raise his voice past a husky whisper for all the feelings he was feeling, “you feel like there’s nothing to talk about. I just don’t want to regret all the things that I never said out loud.”

“Don’t,” Chuck said, and looked away before sighing and looking down, swallowing hard. “You don’t need to.” He sighed again and looked at Herc. “I know them all.” His voice breaking, he added, “I always have.”

Max barked then, wanting attention from his favorite human.

“Hey. Hey, handsome,” Chuck said, kneeling to rub Max’s jowls.

Max whined at the contact.

“Oh, I’m gonna miss you,” Chuck said to the dog, and Herc knew it wasn’t the dog that Chuck would miss.

Chuck pressed a kiss to the top of Max’s head, then rubbed his cheeks and grabbed his snout playfully, and stood. He looked directly at Herc and said, his voice sounding on the edge of tears, “You look after him for me.” Then Chuck turned and headed for the conn-pod elevator.

“Stacker!” Herc called and saw his old friend look up. “That’s my son you got there. “ 

Chuck stopped and looked back. Herc thought he saw tears welling in his eyes.

“My son,” Herc repeated.

Behind Chuck, Stacker bowed his head once, acknowledging Herc's words.

Chuck blinked, and marched determinedly into the conn-pod elevator.

Herc waited until the doors had shut before hurrying to LOCCENT. _Damn it, I should be in that conn-pod,_ he thought. _That should be me._

It wasn’t, though, and now the burden of command was on his shoulders.


	19. Chapter 19

As Herc stepped into LOCCENT, he saw that Raleigh and Mako were already in the process of establishing their neural handshake. Tendo was doing his usual banter with them, then straightened his shoulders.

“Marshal Hercules Hansen on deck,” Tendo said into his microphone as he pressed buttons and switched screens. “Gipsy and Striker, you’re looking good,” he said.

Herc let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. The display showed the neural handshakes holding at 100% for both jaegers as they moved from their stations in the jaeger bays to just outside the ‘dome for the hookups to the jumphawks. Turning to the display that tracked the kaiju, Herc read over the data from the sensors.

“Lady and gentlemen,” Herc told Gipsy and Striker. “The jumphawks will transport you to the location in the Guam quadrant, then drop you for the underwater run to the Breach.”

“Gipsy acknowledges,” Raleigh said.

“Striker acknowledges,” Stacker said. 

Fifteen minutes later, the jumphawks reported in. “Jumphawk Leader 1, all cables secure. Beginning transport of Striker Eureka in four…three...two…one.”

“Jumphawk Leader 2, all cables secure. Beginning transport of Gipsy Danger in four…three…two…one.”

“It’s three hours to the target location,” Herc said. “Talk amongst yourselves till then.” He flipped off the microphone.

“Might as well take a seat,” Tendo told him. “It’s gonna be a while.”

Herc nodded and grabbed a chair. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised when, an hour and a half later, Dylan walked up, pushing a cart full of food and beverages, which she distributed to the LOCCENT crew. Her last stop was Herc.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in the shelter for non-essential personnel?” Herc asked her as he took the sandwich.

Dylan grinned. “I’m operations, which means making sure you all eat. It’s going to be a long night.”

Herc nodded. By the time the jaegers reached their target drop-off point, it would be nearly midnight. “Appreciate it.”

“Besides,” she continued, “I’m too used to thinking I should be up here.”

Herc glanced at her. “Having a hard time adjusting to not being the marshal?”

She gave him a little shrug. “I wanted to let you know, too, that Martin and I are working on a press release for the media,” she said, referring to the PPDC’s lone PR person. “Everyone’s speculating on what we’re doing now since the kaiju alarm’s gone off and the jaeger spotters have seen Gipsy and Striker leave.”

“Let’s not promise anything we haven’t delivered yet,” Herc cautioned. The jaeger spotters were civilians who had the hobby of tracking all jaeger movements; some of them then sold the information to whomever would pay. “Use your judgment.”

“Will do,” Dylan said respectfully. “Enjoy your sandwich and drink; I’ll be back to police the garbage.” She took her cart and left.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some dialogue and details taken from both the novel and the movie; Herc's reactions and his view of what happens here are all my own.

“LOCCENT, this is Jumphawk Leader One, we are over the target point,” the voice of the lead jumphawk pilot rose Herc out of his slight doze. 

“Disengaging transport,” Tendo said, and both jaegers fell into the ocean below.

“LOCCENT, all ports sealed,” Chuck said. “Ready to submerge.”

Herc knew they’d only taken Striker underneath the surface during training, but he was reassured by the confidence in his son’s voice.

“LOCCENT, all ports sealed,” Raleigh said. “Ready to submerge.”

On LOCCENT’s screens, the data scrolled past. The kaiju were still holding position over the Breach and the jaegers did not have any issues as they plunged underwater and started their walk to the Breach.

One of the LOCCENT techs reported from his station. “Both neural handshakes still holding steady at 100%.”

“Neural handshake confirmed, sir,” Tendo said.

Herc knew it was unnecessary confirmation, but he’d heard of situations where the pilots were rattled by the submersion. A deep diver’s oxygen mix was provided through hoses in the pilots’ helmets and the ratio would be automatically adjusted as they went deeper. In theory, the jaegers could be underwater for a maximum of six hours. 

Herc glanced over at the kaiju status screen, then rose to his feet, still holding Max’s leash. The dog’s nails clattered on the tile floor as Herc moved to stand at the microphone at Tendo’s right side. “The two actives are still holding circle formation in the Guam quadrant. Code names are Scunner and Raiju. Both Category 4.”

“Roger that,” Stacker said. “Half a mile to the ocean cliff, we jump! It’s 3,000 meters to the Breach.”

“Half a mile?! I can’t even see a damn inch ahead!” Chuck declared. “How are we supposed to deliver the bomb?”

“Visibility’s zero,” Raleigh confirmed. “Switching to instruments now.”

Herc glanced at Striker’s status and saw that either Stacker or Chuck heard Raleigh’s words and switched the jaeger to instrument control.

The screen in front of Tendo, which showed the relation of the jaegers to the kaiju, bleeped. “Sir!” he said urgently. 

Herc looked over and leaned into the microphone, grabbing it with his good hand. “Gipsy, you have movement on your right! Three o’clock! Three o’clock!”

“Right flank’s clear. I got nothing,” Raleigh reported.

“Left now!” Tendo said, pointing at his screen as if it would help anything. “And movin’ fast! Fastest kaiju on record!”

“I don’t see anything. It’s movin’ too fast!” Raleigh said.

“Eyes on the prize, Gipsy,” Chuck admonished. “600 meters from drop.”

Herc held his breath as the kaiju continued to circle Gipsy.

“Sir, they’re dropping,” one of the LOCCENT techs said.

“Acknowledged,” Herc said.

“400 meters and closing,” Chuck announced.

“Bogeys are stopping,” Tendo announced, manipulating his screen to be sure. Herc leaned over his shoulder, shocked at the news, but he knew he had to warn Stacker and Chuck, who looked like they were leading the charge to the Breach.

“Striker!” Herc said, leaning back into his microphone. “The bogeys are stopping. One o’clock!”

“Marshal, what are you doing?” Chuck demanded.

Herc glanced at the jaeger status screen; Striker was not moving forward anymore.

“They’re stopping,” Stacker shot back. “Why the hell are they stopping?”

“I don’t give a damn, sir! We’re 300 meters from the jump!” Chuck sounded furious.

“Something’s not right!” Stacker argued.

“Striker, the bogeys aren’t following,” Herc said, as puzzled as Stacker was, but aware that they had a window of opportunity. “Take the leap, now!” he ordered.

“Don’t do it! Don’t do it! It’s not gonna work!” Newt said breathlessly as he ran into LOCCENT.

Hand on the microphone still, Herc turned to see what the commotion was as Max lifted his head off the floor and growled a protest.

“Move, you fascist!” Newt ordered Herc, his hand coming up to push Herc aside.

Annoyed by the accusation as much as the interruption, Herc stepped back.

“Blowing up the Breach, it’s not going to work,” Newt babbled into the microphone.

“What do you mean?” Stacker asked. “What’s not going to work?”

“Sir, just because the Breach is open does not mean you’re going to be able to get a bomb through,” Newt said as Hermann joined him to lean over his shoulder.

“The Breach genetically reads the kaiju like a…a barcode at the supermarket and then lets them pass,” Hermann added as Newt made room for him at the microphone.

The bottom fell out of Herc’s stomach at those words and Herc took a second look at them. They looked as though they’d just Drifted with a kaiju – and then Herc remembered that Stacker had told Newt to go find a second brain to do just that. Herc surmised that Hermann, for whatever reason, had decided to join him.

Newt nodded, forgetting that Stacker couldn’t see him. “Okay, so you’re gonna have to fool the Breach into thinking you have the same code!”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Raleigh demanded.

“By making it thinking you _are_ a kaiju,” Newt replied.

“You have to lock onto the kaiju, ride it into the Breach,” Hermann said. “The throat will then read the kaiju’s genetic code and let you pass.”

Tendo sat back in his chair, stunned, and exchanged a look with Herc. The news wasn’t good and if Herc had thought this was a one-way mission before, it just got worse. 

“If you don’t do it, the bomb will deflect off the Breach like it _always_ has and the mission will fail,” Newt said.

Herc had heard enough. Shoving the two scientists out of his way, he grabbed the microphone. “All right, now that you’ve heard all that, Striker, take the leap!”

“Sir!” Tendo sat, leaning into his screen. His voice was tight with tension. “I have a third signature emerging from the Breach!”

“Third signature emerging from the Breach!” Herc repeated for the jaegers’ benefit.

“It’s a triple event,” Newt gasped. 

Tendo stood and manipulated his screen so he could see the results from the Breach’s monitors.

“Oh, God, I _was_ right,” Hermann said, shocked.

Herc ignored them in favor of looking anxiously at Tendo, who was trying to pull the kaiju’s size and weight data.

“How big is it? What category?” Stacker asked.

Tendo stepped back and looked at Herc, terror on his face and in his voice. “Category 5.”

Feeling as though he was dooming his fellow jaeger pilots, Herc leaned into the microphone. “Striker, it’s a Category 5. The first ever.” 

The kaiju’s roar was loud enough to be heard through the jaegers’ instruments, even though they were underwater. Herc swallowed hard. 

“Telemetry data from Striker is showing a height of at least 1.86 meters,” one of the LOCCENT techs reported. Someone, Herc wasn’t sure who, started whispering the Lord’s Prayer. Herc wasn’t a religious man, but he wasn’t about to discount it, either. 

“Striker, we see him,” Raleigh announced. “We’re right behind you, about 100 meters. We’re gonna come around your three o’clock, try to flank him. Standard two-team formation. Just keep him busy for a few min–”

In LOCCENT, Tendo’s jaeger-and-kaiju screen showed one of the kaiju that had previously been stopped now slammed against Gipsy, cutting off Raleigh’s words and forcing him and Mako to react.

“Brace for impact!” Stacker yelled.

Herc felt helpless as he stood there, watching Striker and Gipsy battle the kaiju. It quickly became apparent that the jaegers were outmatched.

“Gipsy’s right arm is gone,” Tendo reported, and Herc swore.

That would be enough, Herc thought, to throw any jaeger pilot off his game, but to feel that kind of pain twice…if it was him, Herc wasn’t sure if he could finish the fight.

“Let’s get this son of a bitch!” Raleigh shouted.

_Come on, come on,_ Herc thought at Raleigh and Mako. Then he saw Tendo’s screen and leaned into the microphone. “Gipsy, coming up on your twelve o’clock! Full speed! Get out of the way!”

The kaiju screamed as it died. From the video feed, Herc saw that Gipsy had used her remaining chain sword to slice Raiju in half.

“We can’t deliver the payload, sir!” Chuck said urgently. “We’re still armed, but the hull is compromised! Half our systems are offline, sir.”

In LOCCENT, alarms were bleating out warnings. Striker looked like it had taken a hit on its backside, precisely where the bomb was mounted, and water was starting to pour into the conn-pod. Gipsy had a damaged right knee to go along with its missing arm, and had water coming in as well. The scenario didn’t look good – and Herc found himself wondering if they’d managed to piece together a third jaeger, would it have made any difference? Shaking his head at the musing, Herc forced himself to focus on the moment.

“Can we do anything from here?” he asked Tendo. 

“Nothing, sir,” Tendo said, “except – Both kaiju converging on Striker fast!”

Herc moved to lean down so he could see Tendo’s screen better as the warning alarms beeped furiously. 

“Hang on, Striker, we’re coming to ya!” Raleigh said, sounding slightly winded.

“No! Gipsy! Do not come to our aid!” Stacker ordered. 

“Hang on!” Raleigh said.

“Do you copy?” Stacker demanded.

“Hang on!” Raleigh insisted.

“Stay as far back as you can!”

“We can still reach you. We’re coming for you!”

“No, Raleigh, listen to me,” Stacker said. “You know exactly what you have to do. Gipsy is nuclear! Take her to the Breach!”

For a heartbeat, Herc thought Raleigh would continue to argue the point.

“I hear you, sir,” Raleigh said reluctantly. “Heading for the Breach.” 

“Mako, listen,” Stacker said. “You can finish this. I’ll always be here for you. You can find me in the Drift.”

“We’re a walking nuclear reactor,” Raleigh reminded Mako, his voice heavy. “We can destroy the Breach.”

From the screens, Herc could see Gipsy moving towards the Breach as Striker turned to face the oncoming kaiju.

“What can we do, sir?” Chuck asked.

“We can clear a path!” Stacker replied in a commanding tone. “For the lady!” 

“They’re gonna detonate the payload,” Tendo realized. He looked up at Herc, as if asking what to do.

Herc shook his head, unable to speak for the regret and knowledge surging through him. If Chuck truly bought into the idea that he shouldn't abandon his copilot - a sentiment Herc knew his son didn't disagree with - then the likelihood of Chuck surviving the explosion just went from 'plausible but not likely' to 'not happening.' If by some miracle, Chuck did survive, it was likely he'd died in the explosion and then came back to life thanks to his immortality being triggered. Herc had no wish to see his son join the Game, yet all signs pointed to that being the likely result. Added to that was the specter that Chuck would die permanently, latent immortal or not. If radiation exposure and EMP surges slowed an immortal's ability to heal, what would a nuclear explosion do? Moreover, as much as Herc didn't want Stacker to die of cancer or from risking his health to pilot again as he was now, he didn't want Stacker to die, period. In one moment, Herc stood to lose both his son and his best friend - and standing here in LOCCENT, watching it happen, Herc had no words.

The video feed from Striker cut out then, leaving only audio.

“My father always said: he said, if you have a shot, take it. So let’s do this.” 

Herc closed his eyes briefly, hearing those words.

“It was a pleasure, sir,” Chuck said.

“Same here,” Stacker said.

Herc held his breath as three alarms went off in succession.


	21. Chapter 21

“Payload’s been detonated,” Tendo confirmed a moment later. He manipulated his screens. “Sensors on the Breach are overloaded. Be at least a minute before we can get clear.” 

Herc knelt down to hide his grief, scratching Max’s ears.

“All kaiju dead. Dropping into the Breach,” Raleigh announced what felt like an eternity later.

At the sound of Raleigh’s voice, Herc rose to his feet and straightened his shoulders. He would get through this; he owed his best friend and his son that much.

“Sir, signal’s weak, but it looks like we have one escape pod from Striker,” Tendo said.

“Scramble the choppers, radiation protocols,” Herc ordered, not daring to hope. 

“It worked! They’re in!” Newt shouted. Herc glanced over to see that the two scientists had moved to hover over one of the side consoles, where the status of the Breach could be viewed.

The feed from Gipsy Danger stuttered and broke up, then reformed. Audio from Gipsy’s sensors cut and in out, making sounds no one had ever heard before.

“…vis..Breach…nish..verri…” Raleigh sounded distant.

“They’re in the Breach now. There’s nothing we can do,” Tendo said.

“They’re out of time,” Newt said. “They have self-destruct _now_.”

“Oxygen’s getting critical,” Tendo noted, looking at the jaeger’s status. “Hull integrity’s compromised. We’re having a problem reading Gipsy – data’s coming in slow. She’s falling deeper into the Breach.”

“What the hell’s going on?” Herc demanded, trying to make sense of the monitors.

Tendo watched his screens. “Mako’s oxygen line is cut!” he warned Raleigh. 

“What’s he doing?” Herc demanded, watching over Tendo’s shoulder.

“He’s giving her his oxygen,” Tendo said slowly. “And activating the Crisis Command Matrix.” 

“He’s going to pilot it solo,” Herc realized, horrified. _Could anyone do that twice and survive?_ he wondered.

“We’ve got an ejection,” one of the LOCCENT techs said.

“What?” Herc didn’t want to believe that Raleigh would come this far and then bail. “Mako,” he surmised. “He ejected Mako. Tendo, confirm.”

“He’s got worse problems,” Tendo said. “The trigger for the reactor is offline. He has to do it by hand.”

Then the screen that gave jaeger status read “Unable to Retrieve Data.”

“What does that mean?” Herc demanded.

“Means Gipsy’s fallen into the Breach far enough that the signal’s lost,” Tendo said.

In tense silence, they waited. Minutes ticked by. No one dared speak. 

“The Breach has collapsed!” one of the LOCCENT techs shouted. 

LOCCENT erupted in cheers and tears of exhausted relief. Newt and Hermann embraced, and Hermann even consented to a high five. Herc allowed himself a moment to celebrate before focusing on what mattered.

“Do we have the pods?”

Tendo looked back at the feed from Gipsy Danger’s and Striker’s subsystems. “Signal’s still intermittent from the one from Striker, and we have one from Gipsy, just emerging. Full oxygen, occupant vital signs strong and stable…” He paused, then admitted. “No sign of the second one from Gipsy.”

“Choppers, report!” Herc demanded.

“LOCCENT, this is Jumphawk 1, we are tracking the signals and are en route. Jumphawk 1 and 2 will be pinpointing the signal from Striker Eureka’s escape pod; Jumphawk 3 is heading to the signal from Gipsy Danger’s escape pod. Will report when we’ve located both.”

“Thank you, Jumphawk 1,” Herc said.

“Visuals on pod from first pod from Gipsy,” Tendo said a few minutes later. “Tracking solid. Vital signs are good.” 

“Okay, where’s the second pod?” Herc asked.

“I’m tracking it, but I’m getting no vital signs.” 

“And from Striker?”

Tendo slapped the side of his monitor. “Still stuttering. Might’ve gotten damaged when the jaeger was hit.”

Herc didn’t want to contemplate what that meant.

“LOCCENT, this is Jumphawk 2, we have located the pod from Striker Eureka. Sir, the pod’s pretty banged up; not sure if anyone’s alive. Jumphawk 1 is lowering a rescue team now.”

“I can’t find his pulse,” Mako said, her voice coming through the emergency comm system installed on every escape pod. “I don’t think he’s breathing.”

“Can you read his pulse?” Herc asked gruffly. He didn’t want to lose anyone else today. “Does he have a pulse?” he asked Tendo.

“Raleigh?” Mako asked. “Raleigh?” 

“I don’t know,” Tendo said, glancing up at Herc. “Mako, listen to me. It could be that the sensors aren’t working,” Tendo told her. “We can’t be sure.” 

“No,” Mako said, sounding like she was starting to cry. “No. Don’t go.”

“Mako,” Tendo said, trying to get her focused as she kept telling Raleigh not to go. He, too, was panting, trying to control his own emotions. “Mako.” 

Suddenly, Raleigh said, sounding strained, “You’re squeezing me too tight.” He coughed twice. “I couldn’t breathe.” 

They both laughed quietly.

Cheers and applause rose up again in LOCCENT as both Tendo and Herc leaned back from the main screen. 

“LOCCENT, this is Jumphawk 1. Ranger Hansen is in critical condition and we are transporting him now.” 

Herc hit the button to page Medical so fast he nearly broke it. “Medical, please standby to receive my son. Also prepare to check out Raleigh and Mako too.”

“Acknowledged,” Dr. Chandel said. 

He looked at Tendo. “They did it,” he said, almost in awe, as the cheering continued. 

Tendo nodded. 

Herc moved to the microphone. “This is Marshal Hercules Hansen. The Breach is sealed. Stop the clock!” 

For a moment, Herc let himself enjoy the knowledge that no more kaiju would be coming, but only for a moment. He needed to see his son.

Tendo caught his eye. “Go, meet the choppers. Dylan and I will hold the fort.”

Herc didn’t care if anyone thought less of him for running.


	22. Chapter 22

Without a jaeger to transport, the jumphawks were the speed kings of the sky. They transported Chuck, Mako, and Raleigh back in less than half the time it took to transport both jaegers. 

Mako and Raleigh had been checked out in transit by the onboard medic, then whisked into the decontamination showers for possible kaiju blue exposure and into Medical for observation to ensure they weren’t suffering from any radiation sickness, though the early report sounded promising. Herc spent a moment checking on their status with Maria, the medical assistant. Maria also informed him that Hu Wei was still in a coma and had been transported to Queen's Medical for further treatment, since they didn't have the staff required for his care.

Maria then led him to a safety room, where she assisted him in putting on a protective suit. “Why do I have to put this on?” Herc asked.

“Because you already have a broken arm that’s healing slowly,” Maria told him, “and we don’t want to make it worse. Radiation exposure might not kill you permanently, but I’m told it’ll hurt a lot.”

Maria put on a suit herself, then led Herc through the clean room to the patient room where Chuck lay, bruised, battered, and looking like something out of a horror film.

Grace waited in the room with Chuck. “I have him stabilized for now,” she said bluntly. “I can give you the full laundry list, but the short version is that he’s barely alive, and the amount of radiation he was exposed to will kill him.” 

Herc stared at her. “What are you suggesting?”

“The worst the first Death is, the more likely it is that you won’t be sane when you revive,” Grace said quietly. “I’d like to spare your son that tragedy.”

“The jumphawk medics saw him – they’re not going to believe that he survives this.”

Grace smiled. “One of those medics was Dr. Lavrova, who I believe was the head physician in Sydney. He was raised by one of us.”

Herc’s eyes widened. “No wonder he always made sure I saw him.” He stared at Chuck a moment, committing to memory how awful he looked, before turning to Grace. “You’re suggesting I deliberately kill my son.”

Grace shook her head. “If I wanted him to hate you, yes.”

Herc stared at her. “Then how do you want to do this?”

“I can prepare an injection. It may take up to three days for his body to heal what was damaged, so he probably won’t revive from his first death right away. We can call it what it is – a miracle.”

Herc took a deep breath, aware that Grace could’ve just done the deed without his permission. It spoke to her integrity that she hadn’t. Yet he felt compelled to ask one more question. “And how do I know you haven’t concocted something that would kill him permanently?”

“I understand your hesitation, but I was stoned to death my first death, accused of being a witch for healing someone with the herbs I’d grown,” Grace told him. “I’d rather not repeat that experience ever again. If you don’t trust me, feel free to do what you want.”

Herc studied her, considering her words. If he took his boot knife and killed his son, it would be one more thing he’d come to regret. Chuck was contrary that way. Herc took a deep breath and let it out. “Then let’s not keep my son in pain.”

Grace rose and went to fetch a syringe. It seemed anticlimactic to watch as she slid the needle into Chuck’s arm; the heart monitor sounded an alarm thirty seconds later and showed a flat line. Chuck’s chest stopped rising and falling. The faint sense of pre-immortality Herc had always felt whenever Chuck was near vanished as well as the tug of their Ghost Drift.

“Don’t panic,” Grace assured Herc, and he assumed he must’ve looked alarmed. “I treated someone who was dead long enough for the funeral festivities to run for a week. You’re not going to do Chuck much good sitting here waiting.”

“Should I go, then?” Herc asked.

“I’ll page you,” Grace assured him. “Though, given your connection to him, you might feel him waking before I do.”

Part of Herc wanted very much to stay, but he knew there were orders to be given and work to be done. He suddenly felt exhausted, and realized he’d been running on adrenaline for hours.

“I’ll be back in a few hours if I don’t hear anything from you,” Herc told her.

Grace smiled and nodded.


	23. Chapter 23

“Marshal, the world is clamoring for more than the brief press release we gave them,” Martin, the PR man, said two days later.

Herc, who’d categorically refused to move into Stacker’s office, had set up camp in Medical’s lobby instead. “What, they aren’t happy with ‘we closed the Breach’?”

“They’re wondering about Mr. Becket, Miss Mori, and Mr. Hansen, sir. I’ve been holding the line on medical confidentiality, but we should give the public some kind of statement soon.” 

Herc sighed. “Think of something. Dr. Chandel isn’t letting anyone out until they’ve cleared minimum radiation protocols, and that’s still a day away.” 

Looking relieved, Martin pulled out his tablet and quickly typed up a statement, which he then showed to Herc. 

“Yeah, go with that,” Herc said, and Martin quickly left.

Dylan and Tendo showed up twenty minutes later. “Folks are wondering if they should stay or go,” Dylan said.

“I for one want to stick around, make sure the Breach stays closed,” Tendo added.

Herc had had plenty of time since those heart-stopping moments in LOCCENT to consider the ramifications of a triple event. He’d spoken with Newt and Hermann, who were convinced that the kaiju might try again, though it was likely to be a while yet. “Anyone who wants to leave can go,” Herc said. “But I’d prefer if we could secure the equipment and information we have, and maintain some monitoring of the Breach.”

Dylan and Tendo nodded. “Agreed,” Dylan said. 

“I’ll ask my crew, see who wants to stick around. The jaeger crews are waiting for word from you before they disperse, but Cherno’s and Crimson’s are wondering when the memorial will be held.” 

“Schedule it for two days from now,” Herc decided. “I’ll check with Mako, but that feels right to me.” 

“Do you think we should proceed with restoring another jaeger just in case?” Dylan asked. 

“Lucky Seven’s up on Level 19 in three pieces, but she’s still battle damaged and she’s nowhere near the capability of Striker or Gipsy,” Herc noted. “How long do you think it’ll take?”

“Frankly, months,” Dylan said. “Yeah, her hull is in three large parts – but her guts are missing. We’ve been harvesting her for spare parts for years. Hell, we used her conn-pod shell to rebuild Gipsy. Stacker thought it best if you and Chuck never saw her again.”

Herc sighed. He had a feeling that was why Stacker’s plan B had been so rough it was nearly nonexistent – it had been truly sketched in chalk, dependent on way too many ‘ifs’. “Got it. Can you get me an estimate of the cost and projected timeline? I want to be able to –”

Whatever he’d been about to say was taken over by the abrupt sense of another immortal. “Excuse me,” he said, and abandoned his temporary desk for Chuck’s room.

Maria stopped him before he could bypass the clean room. “Not yet.”

“That’s my son in there,” Herc said.

“Yes, and you are not going to risk yourself needlessly. I don’t care if you’re immortal,” she told him, and pointed to the safety suit.

Grumbling, Herc nonetheless did what he was told. 

He found Grace with Chuck, going through a baseline exam – heart rate, plus, lung function, eye coordination, and reflexes, as he sipped from a small cup of water. Chuck still looked pale and wan, but he looked like he had before they’d come to Hong Kong. 

Herc breathed a sigh of relief that Chuck wasn’t scarred, like it looked like he might be.

“Ow,” Chuck complained. “What the hell was that sharp pain?”

“Immortal warning beacon,” Grace told him. “Pay attention because it’ll save your life.” 

Chuck closed his eyes briefly. “Felt less intense in the Drift,” he noted. 

_That’s my son_ , Herc thought, and laughed aloud. He got a glare from his son for it. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked Chuck. 

“Sore,” Chuck admitted. “All over.”

“No surprise,” Grace said briskly. “You’ve been healing from extreme injury. I’m holding you to standard post-radiation exposure protocols for another twenty-four hours –”

Chuck looked at her and started to protest, but she kept talking, silencing him before he could do more than open his mouth. 

“– because you are not, according to this monitor, completely radiation-free yet and if nothing else, we need to maintain the fiction,” Grace finished. “You died, Chuck.”

“I–” Chuck started, then shuddered as he took a deep breath. “Does this mean I’m in the Game now?”

“Your choice,” Grace said, surprising Herc. “I don’t play unless I have to. Don’t feel like you have to choose now, either, just because your father and I are standing here.” She smiled gently. “Now, I’m going to go check on Mako and Raleigh.”


	24. Chapter 24

Herc waited until she had left before speaking. “Did Dr. Chandel bring you up to speed?”

Chuck shook his head. “Only on what happened to me. Did we close the Breach?”

“Raleigh did and almost died trying. Mako was running out oxygen, so he switched his for hers and put in an escape pod first, then manually blew up Gipsy. When his escape pod was found, he wasn’t responsive.”

Chuck closed his eyes briefly. “He’s not one of us, is he?”

Herc shook his head. “You’d feel him if he was. Dr. Chandel thinks he just was temporarily unconscious from the neural load and the lack of oxygen.”

“How’s Mako?”

“Grieving, but otherwise good.”

“Striker?”

“Gone.”

“Stacker wanted to die in a jaeger,” Chuck noted, and there was a measure of grief in his voice. “He…he found out about immortality. I couldn’t hide it.”

“And?”

“And he thought it would be a shame if I didn’t fulfill my potential,” Chuck said, looking at Herc.

Herc chuckled. “Sounds like Stacker.” 

“What happens now?”

Herc shrugged. “We still have to monitor the Breach, and I want to discuss where we want to go from here with you, Raleigh, Mako, Dylan, and Tendo. Hu Wei's awake from his coma, but he's going to need a lot of rehab to walk again, and a ton of therapy. The UN’s been calling, trying to backpedal, and from what I hear, there are protests wherever the Wall is. I’m sure if we asked, Richie would be willing to stick around and help you learn how to use that sword Nick gave me a long time ago. If you want to say fuck this and take off, feel free, but at least take that sword with you.” He paused. “None of that needs to be addressed now.”

“Might as well get Raleigh and Mako in, since they’re right around the corner,” Chuck suggested. “Make sure our cover story’s straight. You’ve been holding the press back, haven’t you?”

“Wanted to be sure everyone was okay first,” Herc countered.

Chuck let out a breath. “I didn’t think we’d make it,” he admitted, looking down at his hands. “Not after the third kaiju came out of the Breach and knocked us down.” He looked up at Herc. “I thought I had the best jaeger, the most kills. I thought that would matter. It didn’t.”

“You did what counted,” Herc reassured him. “You helped clear a path.”

A knock sounded on the door. “Is this a family conversation or should we come back?” Raleigh asked. “And, sir, Dr. Chandel says you can get out of the safety suit; the radiation levels have come down enough.”

Herc glanced at Chuck, who nodded once. “Come on in,” Herc said, and started unzipping his safety suit.

“Congratulations,” Chuck said sincerely.

Raleigh shrugged. “All I did was fall. Anyone can fall.”

“In a damaged jaeger, out of oxygen, and carrying the full load? Yeah, right, mate, pull my other leg,” Chuck shot back. “Sounds like you lost a few more brain cells if you think I’ll buy that horseshit.”

Raleigh grinned. “You’re looking pretty good for a guy who rode a shock wave out of his jaeger.”

“Good genes and some damn good padding in that pod,” Chuck said easily. “I got a little paranoid when I saw what wasn’t there.”

“Well, whatever it is, glad to know you made it out,” Raleigh declared.

“I know I don’t have the right to ask –” Mako began, looking anxiously at Chuck.

Chuck half-smiled. “You will anyway,” he reminded her. “You always did.”

“But did he really bring nothing into the Drift?” Mako asked, sounding like it was something she’d heard Stacker say often.

“Not exactly,” Chuck said. “He thought of the River Lea through the seasons.”

For some reason, that made Mako look relieved. “He loved water,” she revealed. “It was calming to him.” She took a deep breath, trying to hold onto her composure. 

“I’m setting the memorials up for two days’ time,” Herc inserted, “unless you have objections.”

Mako shook her head. “No, that’s fine.” She took another breath and leaned, ever so slightly, into Raleigh. “Raleigh and I were talking and we think we should build another jaeger for another crew.”

“I caught a glimpse of…whatever is on the other side of the Breach,” Raleigh said, shuddering. “I don’t want to be caught unprepared if I can help it. What do you guys think?”

“Whatever it is, it needs to be more capable than what we had, and whoever’s in the conn-pod has to be ready,” Chuck insisted.

“Agreed,” Herc said. “I want you to know the same thing I told Chuck – if you want to leave this all behind and do something else, feel free.”

“I don’t have anywhere I want to be,” Raleigh said.

“Me neither,” Mako said. “Especially if you want to design a new jaeger. Chuck?”

“Only place I ever wanted to be was here, fighting the kaiju,” Chuck said. “Not sure what else I’d do with myself.” He looked to Herc. “Sounds like we’ve got that part settled. What next, old man?”

“Oi, don’t call me that,” Herc said crossly, but for the first time in days, he felt like he could finally breathe again.


	25. Epilogue

One month later, Herc crossed their quarters to where his son stood in the bathroom, fidgeting with the way his scabbard hung. “I don’t know how you and Richie do this,” Chuck griped. “Feels like I have the damn hilt scraping my shoulder and the tip’s going to cut my ass.”

“Did you try hanging it diagonally?” Herc asked.

“But I wanted to wear it straight down like you do,” Chuck said.

Herc bit back a smile. “My hilt’s flat, so I can wear it however. Yours not so much.” After some deliberation, Richie had chosen to start Chuck off with the swept-hilt sword Nick had sent to Herc years before, since Chuck had shown some difficulty controlling his hand placement on a less ornate grip and the swept-hilt forced Chuck to hold the grip in a specific way.

Chuck made a face, but he rearranged the scabbard to hang diagonally. “Now my jacket’s not going to fit.”

“Hush,” Herc told him. “You haven’t even tried it on yet this way.”

In the mirror, Chuck shot a look at his father. “It doesn’t fit,” he said doubtfully, but then put it on. The sport coat, which had been tailored for Chuck, hung beautifully now that he had his scabbard on diagonally. “Seriously? That’s what I was doing wrong?”

Herc just smiled knowingly. Like Chuck, Herc wore a navy blue sport coat, a white button-down shirt, and dark blue slacks. Herc hated wearing a suit, and had decided that the new dress uniform - in keeping with their status as an independent organization - should be a little more business casual. The look of relief on the remaining jaeger pilots’ faces when he announced that decision had been unanimous, especially from Hu, who had been fitted with leg braces and hadn’t been looking forward to the more fitted uniform he and his brothers had used to wear.

“Now come on, the gang’s waiting,” Herc told his son, who nodded and tugged on Max’s leash to get the dog going.

Negotiations with the UN were still ongoing; Herc had been persuaded to consider what they had to say, but so far hadn’t seen anything to make him commit the PPDC and its people to going back. Funding for another jaeger and continued monitoring had been secured, thanks in part to a sizable donation from one of the world’s billionaires, who’d challenged his fellows to ‘support solutions that worked.’ Herc had given Chuck and Raleigh the challenge of finding whom among the cadets could Drift with each other and train them, while Mako worked with Hu to design the next generation jaeger. Herc had appointed Dylan to be his deputy marshal, and she in turn brought in the man who’d been the operations manager at Anchorage to fill her position. Newt and Hermann were hard at work figuring out how to apply what they’d learned about the Drift and compatibility to civilian applications. Tendo had appointed one of his staff to be his assistant so he could stop living on bagels and coffee and actually see his wife and daughter more. Grace had agreed to stay on as well, and volunteered some of her time to assist Hong Kong’s less fortunate with medical care.

All in all, Herc thought, life was moving on, and they were living in a world of peace. Rebuilding what was damaged by the kaiju and by jaegers fighting said kaiju would take years, but already in Hong Kong, he could see the construction in progress. As he took a seat next to his son for the first official interview on the one-month anniversary of the Breach closure, Herc thought about how far they’d come. He remembered how Chuck had thought stamping their kill count on his jacket, and later Striker’s breastplate once he’d gotten permission, had been important. Now, listening to Chuck talk with Raleigh, Mako, and Hu while they waited for their interviewer and her camera crew to finish setting up, their conversation filled with friendly teasing and humor, Herc felt like his son finally understood what he’d tried to say so long ago. Nothing was more important than family - and Herc knew his son had found it.

 

finis 8/20/14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OhmiGod, folks, I can't believe I wrote this much in a month. Thank you so much for reading, following, kudo-ing, and commenting along the way. I hope you've enjoyed the ride as much as I've had fun writing it.
> 
> If you're reading this long after this posting date, please know that constructive criticism, kudos, and comments (even "I like this!") are welcome. :-)


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